The first case involved Sgt. Robert Stamm of the Virginia Division of Capitol Police, who had been assigned to protests calling on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over a racist yearbook photo that surfaced in February.
Anti-Fascists of the Seven Hills, which said it was based in Richmond, Virginia, wrote online in February that Stamm came to its attention because he had a large Band-Aid covering his neck while patrolling. The group found photos on social media of Stamm with tattoos, flags and banners that used white supremacist symbols and images, it said in a blog post.
It also said he was linked to the Asatru Folk Assembly, an extremist group that invokes pre-Christian Nordic religion and culture and has spread through the Virginia jail system. In 2015, the FBI foiled a plot by members of the group to attack black churches and synagogues as part of a plan to incite a race war in the Chesterfield area.
Stamm was suspended after the group published its post. On Wednesday, Col. Anthony Pike, the Capitol Police chief, announced in a statement that Stamm had been “separated from his employment.” He did not explain what had led to the firing.
In the second case, Daniel Morley, a school resource officer with the Chesterfield County Police Department, was fired Thursday following an investigation into allegations that he was affiliated with the group Identity Evropa, also known as the American Identity Movement. Members of that group helped plan the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Antifa Seven Hills had identified Morley as a “pledge coordinator” for the group, which recruits on college campuses and elsewhere. Antifa said Morley was responsible “for guiding new applicants through the vetting process” and had been a member since 2017.
Morley was suspended in March while the department investigated the claims. Col. Jeffrey Katz, the police chief, wrote on social media Thursday that investigators had authenticated the online postings and activities.
“The views espoused by and attributed to Mr. Morley violate county and departmental policy and our organizational values; his continued employment is antithetical to the expectations of our personnel and those we serve,” he wrote.
The anti-fascist group also alleged that Stamm and Morley knew each other, and in March it posted what it said was a photo of the two together.
Efforts to reach both men Thursday night were unsuccessful.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.