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This Gay Student Refused to Join in a Nazi Salute in Viral Prom Picture

A viral photo showing students at Baraboo High School making the offensive hand gesture has drawn backlash and a police investigation.

Wisconsin police are investigating after a prom picture showing students at Baraboo High School giving Nazi salutes went viral, but not all of the students participated.

The photograph gained attention through a since-deleted tweet, from an account called "Welcome to Baraboo," which displayed the image, alongside the caption, "We even got the black kid to throw it up."

Jordan Blue is a gay student at the school, who says he has been bullied by his classmates since middle school, and has explained what was going on in his head during that moment, in which he is the lone figure seen in the back, at right, not giving the Nazi salute nor laughing. As he explained to journalist Jules Suzdaltsev, the picture was taken quickly, not allowing him time to leave. But he did make a clear decision not to participate in his peers' show of intolerance.

According to Blue, the photographer told the students to raise their hands, and his peers then took it upon themselves to give the racist salutes, including one student giving the alt-right, white power hand symbol that looks like the "OK" sign.

He told CNN he was "uncomfortable and very hurt," as well as "scared for the future" when he saw what they were doing.

"Baraboo is a phenomenal community, and is not a racist community," he added. "We're very close, so when an event like this happens, it affects all of us."

When asked by reporter Adriana Diaz, for CBS This Morning, about whether he thinks his classmates are regretful, he said he believes so.

"Some of these people have bright futures ahead of them, so why did they do it?" he asked.

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