Springfield, IL – A Springfield police officer has been placed on unpaid leave after allegedly posting racist and anti-semitic posts on social media.
Springfield opened an investigation after online reports identified officer Aaron Paul Nichols, 46, as the person responsible for racist and antisemitic postings on multiple social media forums.
The website Anonymous Comrades Collective, which describes itself as “dedicated to exposing Nazis, racists, and fascists”, says it pieced together clues from various anonymous accounts to identify Aaron P. Nichols as a nearly 20-year veteran of the Springfield police force. The accounts, under names including “Magic Dirt Farmer” and “We Will Win,” praised Hitler while demeaning Jews and people of color.
As of Friday, the officer has been placed on unpaid leave and stripped of police powers while the investigation continues.
In his posts, made from accounts with the name “WeWillWin” and “MagicDirtFarmer,” Nichols not only praised Hitler but also disparaged Jews and people of color. In one post, Nichols said the convicted vigilante killers of Ahmaud Arbery “did nothing wrong” and were only charged “because of Jews.”
Arbery’s killing made national news almost two years ago after a cellphone video showed the 25-year-old unarmed Black man being gunned down by three white men in Brunswick, Georgia. His killers were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month, after having been convicted of his murder in November 2021.
Nichols has also claimed he knows “where the Jews live” and has made violent threats against Jews time and again. Here are some of the posts:
Springfield Police Department Launches Investigation, Officer Placed on Leave
“The Springfield Police Department was made aware of comments reportedly posted to social media by an officer using a personal profile,” Police Chief Ken Scarlette said in a statement Friday afternoon. “Upon receiving this information, the Department immediately launched an internal investigation.”
The officer has since been placed on unpaid administrative leave and his police powers removed.
Scarlette’s statement went on to say the department “does not condone the use of racist comments by any of our officers, at any time. Statements like this erode civilian trust and confidence in our department and are not tolerated. The views allegedly expressed by the officer do not align with our oath, or the mission and philosophy of the Springfield Police Department and in no way reflect the views of the over 200 officers within our department.”Read more
Read Chief Scarlette’s Statement here: Statement-from-Chief-Scarlette-4_1_2022
