Jesse James — the much-reviled, philandering ex of Sandra Bullock — sure looks happy in photos that appear in Us magazine this week. Unfortunately, he’s grinning as a passenger in his car gives a Nazi salute.

Us, which last spring published a 2004 snapshot of James donning a Nazi cap and giving a “Sieg Heil” salute, says “new, similarly disturbing images involving James [were] posted on Facebook by ex-employees of his company, West Coast Choppers.” In one photo, “James grins and sits in a convertible alongside a pal” who gives the infamous straight-arm salute; “another image features a children’s book character, Flat Stanley,” dressed as Hitler, Us reports.

The story gets weirder; despite the insensitive nature of the shots, Anti-Defamation League rep Abraham Foxman says James’ poor taste “doesn’t make him an anti-Semite,” gossip site PopEater reports. The site says James’ PR rep has maintained that his client is not a bigot, “claiming that James’ Nazi gear was a gag gift from his Jewish grandfather.”

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Since James cheated on superstar Bullock with swastika-tattoo-sporting model Michelle “Bombshell” McGee, “who has taken some less-than-tasteful shots in Nazi gear herself,” it might be reasonable to assume, as PopEater says, that “James could harbor anti-Semitic tendencies.”

According to an insider, however, James’ interest in relics of Europe’s painful past is simply that. “He’s into history,” a source told PopEater.

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