The parents of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller spoke out on Wednesday, criticizing his superiors for placing their son in pre-trial confinement, after he posted a series of videos on Facebook reprobating military leadership for their handling of the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan.
The story: After the military placed their son in prison as he awaits trial for speaking out against the military’s top-ranking decision-makers, his parents, Stuart Scheller, Sr. and Cathy Scheller, appeared on multiple media outlets this week to decry the treatment of their son and the refusal of military leadership to accept responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Appearing on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Scheller’s father explained how his son ended up in this predicament, stating: “The Marines have fast-tracked him in his career. Until 30 days ago, he was a hero to the leadership of the Marine Corps. On August 26th, when 13 of our servicemen died in the Kabul Airport, something inside of our son snapped. He was angry. He is principled – he is a very courageous and principled man – but when that happened, he had to go and ask his leaders for accountability. He had many active duty Marines and veterans were asking is it worth it.”
Scheller, Sr. also addressed Senate hearings on Tuesday, during which Congress members questioned Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and Commander of U.S. Central Command General Kenneth Frank McKenzie about the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
“Our son called for accountability,” Scheller, Sr. began. “Throughout the hearing today I don’t feel like they accepted accountability.”
“I am extremely disappointed,” Scheller, Sr. continued. “It’s no coincidence in my opinion that they put a gag order on [my son] and they put him in prison the day before they had to appear in front of Senators – and tomorrow in front of Congressmen.”
Worth noting: Scheller, Jr. is being held in pre-trial confinement at Camp Lejeune, a military base in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Mrs. Scheller related that her son received two minutes to call her before being sent to confinement.
During the call, she says he asked her to call his lawyer and then said, “Mom, tell everyone.”
See Scheller’s post:
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