(CNN) Two Transportation Security Administration officers have been placed on leave after a racist display was found inside a TSA workstation at Miami International Airport.

Three TSA officers discovered two stuffed gorillas tied together and hanging with a noose on July 21, according to four TSA employees with knowledge of the situation and a picture obtained by CNN.

A TSA employee with knowledge of the situation told CNN the display was hanging from a "pole right in the center of the TSA workstation located underneath the airport where passengers' checked luggage is screened before being placed on aircraft."

The three officers notified their manager, but according to an employee with knowledge of the situation, the manager "tried to downplay the noose and gorilla display, saying it wasn't racist, it was just a joke." The manager's reaction further upset the three officers, the TSA employee said.

According to an internal email obtained by CNN, the incident prompted the agency to launch an internal investigation, and two officers have since been placed on leave.

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