In March 2025, a number of social media posts claimed a video of the first Black female American officer to die in combat had been removed from the U.S. Army's web platforms as part of President Donald Trump's anti-diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
An Instagram post claimed a video of 2nd Lt. Emily Perez was removed:
She became a 2nd Lieutenant, was the first Black female cadet Brigade Command Sgt. Major of West Point, and was a member of the West Point "Class of 9/11": the class that entered the U.S. Military Academy immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
She became [the] first Black Female officer in U.S. military history to die in combat and the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq."
The video documenting why she chose to serve in the Army and in combat has been deleted by the Army.
https://www.instagram.com/gander_service_dog/p/DHbFdAHtv7f/
A March 7, 2025, news report on Business Insider claimed the Army erased videos of Perez from its platforms, as well as a May 2023 article mentioning Perez.
While some military databases deleted or had inaccessible materials about Perez, the Army website still had a number of articles about her. In addition, footage about Perez on the Air Force website was not loading correctly. We reached out to various branches of the military who said they were complying with Trump's anti-DEI executive order and flagging certain content but would not specify what content.
In late February 2025, a Defense Department memorandum called on commanders of various units and senior Pentagon leadership to enforce Trump's orders:
By March 5, 2025, Components must take all practicable steps, consistent with records management requirements, to remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). All articles, photos, and videos removed from DoD websites and social media platforms must be archived and retained in accordance with applicable records management policies.
As of this writing, the Army website has this caption visible on the top bar: "Archived historical content from culturally-focused Army websites is under review for compliance with Executive and OSD policy. Content will be reposted after the review. Other historical resources include The Center for Military History."
Searches for "Emily" and "Perez" on the Army site returned a September 2020 article (archived) about the officer still available on the site as of this writing, with the headline "Emily's Way: Gold Star Mother shares daughter's inspiring story." We also found a 2018 article (archived) with the headline "Event highlights African Americans in times of war."
However, an article (archived) headlined "Through Struggle and Strife, Women of West Point Carve out a Military Legacy" was no longer available. Another article (archived) with the headline "Women of the Long Gray Line: More than 5,000 women have graduated from the U.S. Military Academy since 1980" also was unavailable. The original articles are archived here and here. The May 2023 article states:
Nevertheless, women have overcome the odds. Women have been battled tested. Women like USMA 2005 graduate Emily Perez made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq when an improvised explosive device decimated the Humvee she rode in.
Army spokesman Christopher Surridge told Snopes over email the Army was complying with the executive order and temporarily unpublishing certain webpages:
The stories of our service members hold an honored place in the treasured tapestry of Army history, and we are pleased to republish articles highlighting the impactful contributions and enduring legacies of our Soldiers, units and their sacrifices.
In accordance with recent policy changes and renewed digital content guidance, the Army temporarily unpublished webpages dedicated to cultural observance months. We are tirelessly working through content featured on these webpages, and historical articles will soon be republished to better align with current guidance. As this is an ongoing process requiring a manual content review, article restoration might take some time.
There are many stories available across Army websites that were not impacted by the archival of heritage or observance webpages, as we remain committed to sharing the legacies of our Soldiers, units and their sacrifices.
In a follow-up email, he added:
The sacrifice and enduring legacy of 2LT Emily Perez holds an honored place in the treasured tapestry of Army history. In accordance with recent policy changes, we moved quickly to comply with the Digital Content Refresh, and some featured content or microsites may have been temporarily archived and will soon be republished online. There are many stories available across Army websites, as we remain committed to sharing the legacies of our Soldiers, units and their sacrifices.
Surridge directed us to the existing webpages about Perez, including her biographical page on the website of the National Museum of the U.S. Army.
In a video posted by the DOD, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the military was working to remove all DEI materials and would restore some items after review:
Over the past few weeks, we've taken action to identify and archive DEI content from our websites and social media platforms. […] Without question, this task was an arduous but incredibly important undertaking. […] When content is either mistakenly removed or if it's maliciously removed, we continue to work quickly to restore it.
Through Google search, we found the thumbnail of a video featuring U.S. service members praising Perez on the Air Force website.
(Screenshot via Google search)
However, the video would not load on that page. The original video, however, was available on Wikimedia Commons with the caption: "Video honoring the life and death of 2nd Lt. Emily Perez, the first African American cadet Brigade Command Sgt. Major of West Point, who died in the line of duty."
In response to our queries about this video, the Army spokesperson directed us to the Air Force, who directed us back to the Army. Neither organization addressed whether the video was removed because of the executive order.
