The military officer facing legal consequences for speaking out against Department of Defense leaders is no longer in the brig.
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr., whose criticism of the Afghanistan withdrawal received attention nationwide, had been in pretrial confinement in the Regional Brig for Marine Corps Installations East at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, but both sides agreed to a release, according to Capt. Sam Stephenson, a Training and Education Command spokesman.
“Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is being released from confinement today, Oct. 5, 2021, as a result of a mutual agreement between Lt. Col. Scheller, his Defense counsel, and the Commanding General, Training Command,” said Stephenson in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“No additional details regarding the agreement may be released at this time,” he added.
Scheller gained notoriety last month when he posted a video on social media calling for accountability from military leaders for the way the Afghanistan withdrawal occurred, and he specifically referenced the ISIS-K terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghan nationals. He posted subsequent videos detailing the consequences of the video and informing viewers of the fallout of his initial post.
He has not been charged, though there are four specific charges that will be considered during his hearing — Article 88: contempt toward officials; Article 90: willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; Article 92: failure to obey lawful general orders; and Article 133: conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, according to a Marine Corps spokesperson.
A number of conservatives have thrown their support behind Scheller, including more than two dozen GOP lawmakers who sent a letter calling for his release from confinement, because he was critical of the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal execution, though he has criticized members of both political parties, including former President Donald Trump.
“President Trump. I was told by everyone to kiss the ring because of your following and power,” he said in a Facebook post last Saturday. “I refuse. While I respect your foreign policy positions, I hate how you divided the country. I don’t need or want your help. You do not have the ability to pull US together.”
The Pipe Hitter Foundation, an organization created by Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL pardoned by President Trump after being convicted of a war crime, has raised more than $2.5 million on Scheller’s behalf.
