US Marine Imprisoned for Seeking Accountability Over Afghanistan Withdrawal

Tammy Hung
By Tammy Hung
September 29, 2021Politics
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US Marine Imprisoned for Seeking Accountability Over Afghanistan Withdrawal
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller in a file photograph. (Courtesy of Stuart Scheller)

U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was imprisoned on Sept. 27 after violating a USMC gag order with a Facebook post over the weekend.

“It is with a heavy heart that we, his parents, are informing you that our son, Lt. Col Stuart Scheller, has been incarcerated by the USMC this morning, September 27, 2021,” said Scheller’s parents via Facebook.

“In thirty days, our son Lt. Col Stuart Scheller went from being an exemplary Marine, handpicked by the Corp and placed in a highly prestigious position as the Commander of the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, to a Marine that is being incarcerated for demanding accountability and integrity from Military Leadership,” continued the post.

The USMC issued a gag order after Scheller posted on social media criticizing senior military leadership on the handling of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

USMC Training and Education Command spokesperson Capt. Sam Stephenson acknowledged Scheller’s incarceration in a statement to Task & Purpose: “Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is currently in pre-trial confinement in the Regional Brig for Marine Corps Installations East aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune pending an Article 32 preliminary hearing. The time, date, and location of the proceedings have not been determined. Lt. Col. Scheller will be afforded all due process.”

Scheller first gained a following on social media after posting his initial video on Aug. 26 in which he criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying he was calling for “accountability of my senior leaders” over “obvious mistakes that were made.”

The video had received more than 75,000 likes and 66,000 shares on Facebook.

Scheller released the initial video on the same day 13 U.S. troops and more than 100 Afghans were killed in an attack outside Kabul’s international airport.

The terrorist group ISIS-K, an ISIS affiliate, claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 attack, although the self-declared acting president, Afghanistan’s former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, has said he believes the Taliban was involved in the bombing.

Scheller has since resigned as an infantry officer, forgoing pension funds and benefits following 17 years of service.

In a Sept. 16 video, Scheller pledged to file charges against Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. for “his bad assumptions,” reiterating his previous stance that “senior leaders need to be held accountable to the same standard as us.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the Marine Corps for comment.

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