A former soldier who enlisted in the Army to become better at killing Black people has been given the boot following an FBI investigation.
FBI agents arrested Killian M. Ryan on Aug. 26 and charged him with one count of knowingly making a false statement on his application for a secret security clearance.
Ryan was also discharged from the Army on the same day for “serious misconduct,” Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, said in a statement.
Court documents state that Ryan, a former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, had ties to white supremacist organizations and Nazi ideology.
“I serve for combat experience so I’m more proficient in killing n—–s,” Ryan wrote in a social media post dated May 27, 2021–just two weeks after he enlisted in the Army. Documents show that his personal email address at the time was “NaziAce1488.”
According to ADL.org, 1488 combines two infamous white supremacist numeric symbols. The first symbol is 14, which is shorthand for the “14 Words” slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The second symbol, 88, stands for “Heil Hitler” (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet).
Ryan had been serving as a Fire Support Specialist and held the rank of Specialist at the time of his discharge, Kelley said. A Fire Support Specialist gathers intelligence and enemy target positions to help the Army in deploying and firing artillery and requires a secret security clearance.
His criminal charges are unrelated to his racist online communications. Ryan will not face hate crime charges.
