A Marine lieutenant colonel who was jailed last month after posting a viral video criticizing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was released from the brig on Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was released from confinement “as a result of a mutual agreement” between his legal team and officials, Cpt. Sam Stephenson, a Training and Education Command representative, said in a statement.
No additional details about the agreement would be immediately released, said Stephenson.
Scheller, a 17-year infantry officer, had been ordered to be held in pre-trial confinement at the brig in Camp Lejeune after posting several videos to Facebook and LinkedIn criticizing several top U.S. officials over the military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He had not been charged with a specific violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but officials had said they would examine whether he had committed offenses including contempt toward officials, willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, failure to obey lawful general orders and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
In a video posted in August after the suicide bomb attack in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghan civilians, Scheller criticized Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joints Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley for closing Bagram Air Base and failing to anticipate the fall of Afghan National Security Forces to the Taliban.
He also called on senior leaders to take accountability for the failures of the withdrawal.
“People are upset because their senior leaders let them down and none of them are raising their hands and accepting responsibility and saying we messed this up,” Scheller said.
Scheller further expressed his “Growing discontent and contempt for … perceived ineptitude at the foreign policy level” and in a later video accused Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, of dereliction of duty.
After the release of the videos, Scheller was fired from his job as the commander of an infantry training battalion at Camp Lejeune on Aug. 27.
He has submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Navy offering to resign his commission rather than face a court-martial.
A group of 27 Republican lawmakers last week sent a letter to Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, calling for Scheller to be released from the brig and stating his detainment appeared to be “simply for messaging, retribution and convenience.”
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He should be reinstated and promoted ! These idiots in charge won’t do that, they really don’t want anybody around them that can THINK on his own.
I am surprise they’ve not already tried to DEMOTE HIM..
The contempt and loathing that the demonrat party holds for the military is blatant and well documented. When the draft was ended by Richard Nixon, left wing participation in the all volunteer force dropped like a rock. Infecting the armed forces with homosexuals and women , although a way to have the more traditional democrats represented, was an “in your face” insult to the patriots in uniform and designed to sabotage morale and readiness under the disingenuous guise of “inclusion and equality”.
The U.S. Military is under the command and authority of the President the Commander in Chief and Congress.
We have a dishonorable, corrupt, demented, puppet, Democrat president, Joe Biden and a traitorous, power hungry, socialist Democrat cult in the reign of Congress.
Democrats and the Democrat Party never take responsibility or are held accountable for their own unlawful, destructive, dishonorable, immoral actions. Democrats always blame someone or something else for their own actions. Even if the Democrats are caught “red handed”.
The dishonorable socialist Democrat Party revolves around and its philosophy is based on Total Control, Hate, Lies, Cons, Deceptions, Immorality and the lack of Integrity, Ethics or Honor.
To fully advance the Demonic, Dishonorable Socialist Democrat Party’s destructive agendas of socialism, dividing our citizens with hate, open borders, gun control, radical feminism, abortion-on-demand, the LGBTQ lifestyle, unfettered sexual identity, transgender “gay marriage” and the like, the pagan Liberal left Democrats must do away with our Constitution, GOD, common sense, morality, Christian values and free religious exercise altogether.
Under the guise of “anti-discrimination.”
This traitorous, dishonorable, unethical, immoral, socialist Democrat Party has become our country’s most destructive and deadliest ENEMY!
I have to agree with you. I’ve been saying for years that Pelosi is this country’s greatest enemy, and unless purged from our government, will destroy what’s left of our constitutional democratic republic. Socialism will abound and they will do anything to control this country. We really can’t put the blame on Biden because he really isn’t that smart. He’s nothing but a puppet being controlled by the one world crowd. One of the biggest mistake this country ever made was to eliminate the draft. Every day we can see the results of that one big screw up.
AND we also screwed up, when they let POLITICIANS GET WAIVERS for their kids/family.. IMO IF EVERYONE ELSE has to suffer the draft, SO TOO SHOULD THE POLITICIANS! Maybe then they’d not be so eager to send folks to die in useless fights…
WIth how the left’s purging our military OF Patriots, i wonder how much LOWER IN # our military ranks will get, and if it will eventually get bad enough they have to REINSTATE the draft?
Let me see if I get this straight…
Gen. Milley makes UNAUTHORIZED call(s) to our ENEMY (China), advising them that HE would advise them, if President Trump (the COMMANDER IN CHIEF) ordered him to attach China, and THAT’S OKAY…
But Lt. Col. Scheller merely criticizes the BOTCHED withdrawal from Afghanistan, and HE’s in the brig (and to be court-marshalled)?
There’s something VERY, VERY wrong with this picture!
YEA< one is high treason, and SHOULD WARRANT A FIRING SQUAD..
A firing squad armed with flamethrowers.
Pity we can’t stick massive flame throwers up, all along our southern border, to STOP THE MASSIVE invasion!!
The bottom line is that Scheller was right. I know that the military is not supposed to criticize the commander-in-chief but the truth should matter and Scheller was truthful.
Scheller is a Never Trumper and he has asked the Trump family not to support him according to reports on Fox News. Does that matter to you? It doesn’t change the fact that Scheller told the truth.
I don’t know if he voted for Biden or not but if he did I would bet that he won’t do it again. Sometimes lessons have to learned the hard way.
IF criticizing the commander in chief was really a crime, THEN MILLY WHO OPENLY DEFIED HIm should also have been court martialled..
There’s more to this story. Lt. Col. Scheller appears to be a patriot, I hope so. However, something’s not right, only time will tell.