Did Mikey Hothi and Sergio Robles have sinister motives with the ‘OK’ hand signs in a social media photo?
Constituents in Lodi and Elk Grove deserve to hear from both councilmembers about what prompted the pose
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Lodi City Councilmember Mikey Hothi and Elk Grove City Councilmember Sergio Robles are pictured making “OK” signs with both hands in a Facebook photo posted Nov. 9, 2022, the day after Robles was elected to the Elk Grove City Council.
The posting shows Hothi on the left and Robles on the right (see above), both facing the camera. It does not show the original caption.
An Elk Grove News reader shared a 2019 NPR report about the Anti-Defamation League’s decision to add the gesture to its database of hate symbols. That report raises a question about the photo: Were the two elected officials knowingly mimicking a sign used by white nationalists, were they clueless about that association, or did the pose have another meaning?
The ADL traces the association to a 2017 hoax in which users of the online forum 4chan claimed the extended fingers and the circle formed by the thumb and index finger spelled out “WP,” for “white power.” By 2019, the organization said, some white supremacists had adopted the sign in earnest.
The ADL added the gesture is harmless in most settings and cautions that its meaning depends on the circumstances.
In March 2019, ABC News Australia reported that Brenton Tarrant made a white-power gesture at his first court appearance after the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand. Axios, citing reporters who witnessed the appearance, described it as an upside-down “OK” sign. Both reports preceded the ADL’s decision to list the gesture.
The Facebook photo illustrates how a social media post can outlast the context in which it was shared. In a separate episode, Elk Grove News previously reported that footage of Robles appearing intoxicated was posted to social media hours before his May 2023 arrest (see video below) on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Elk Grove police officers said they found him unresponsive in a vehicle in an Elk Grove parking lot. Robles later apologized on Facebook and said he accepted responsibility for his actions.
Constituents in Lodi and Elk Grove deserve to hear from both councilmembers about what prompted the pose, what they meant by it and whether they knew the gesture had been adopted by white supremacists. Their accounts could supply what the screenshot leaves out.
