WEST POINT, NY — A group of seven cadets have been expelled from the United States Military Academy this week for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice regarding political gestures in uniform, the Academy Public Affairs Office announced today.

Several cadets of Company L, 1st Regiment, were seen in pictures on social media of themselves with hands raised in a Roman salute. West Point Spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker told reporters the academy investigated "and found the students had violated numerous rules and regulations.”

This raised arm salute has set off controversy as the photo spread virally across social media, with some claiming that it is an inappropriate political gesture, which is prohibited by Academy Regulations as well as military law. Others argue that the pose simply reflects the cadets’ sense of company pride. Company L’s mascot is the “Legionaries” and the unit has a Roman Army theme.