Mom of jailed marine Stuart Scheller: 'They're trying to bury our son'

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Father of jailed Marine, Stuart Scheller: 'His crime was speaking truth to power'

Stu Scheller, Sr., the father of jailed Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, criticized military generals on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' for betraying the American people.

The parents of Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday they "don't know" how their son is doing after he was put into the brig Monday. According to the parents, no one has told them yet what the charges were.

Scheller was put under a gag in order to prevent him from speaking out against military leadership regarding the botched troop withdrawal from Afghanistan his parents, Stu and Cathy, said in a statement. "He was issued a gag order which he broke this weekend by posting on social media," the statement said. 

The Marine's father told Carlson, "He knew this weekend when he posted again and he broke his silence that they were probably going to arrest him. He is a very intelligent man. He understands what's going to happen to him."

"He broke chain of command … his crime was speaking truth to power, and power couldn't handle it … While he broke chain of command – [Gens.] Austin, Milley, McKenzie –  they broke the chain of trust and confidence in the American people. We're mad, we're mad as hell."

PARENTS OF MARINE IMPRISONED FOR CRITICIZING AFGHAN CRISIS SLAMS 'ACT OF COWARDICE': 'SHAME ON AUSTIN'

"This is one of the worst stories I've ever seen in 30 years of covering this stuff," host Tucker Carlson said about the incarceration. "I can't remember being as offended as I am by this. It's just so completely wrong."

The Marine, who served for 17 years, was relieved of command in August after publicly expressing his views on how the military pulled troops out of Afghanistan, including abandoning Bagram Air Base before the withdrawal was complete.

The military also ordered Scheller to undergo a mental health evaluation. Scheller had said at the time that he was walking away from $2 million in pension.

He also said, "I’m not going anywhere." 

"Everyone is scared that the weight of the system is crashing down on me. But I know something you don’t … it’s the system that’s going to break. Not me," Scheller continued.

"This is all for making a Facebook video that was entirely truthful," Tucker said to Scheller's parents about the incarceration. 

Scheller's central complaint was a lack of accountability within the military and government.

"Did anyone raise their hand and say, ‘We completely messed this up?'" Scheller had asked. "I’m not saying we can take back what has been done. All I asked for was accountability, for people to comment on what I said and to say, ‘Yes. Mistakes were made.’ And had they done that I would've gone back into rank and file, submitted, and accomplished what I wanted."

Scheller continued to post criticism on LinkedIn, including accusing Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of "dereliction of duty." In another post, he said "the current military-industrial machine is broken"

Scheller also began widespread critiques of the government, asking "does the current government still serve the interests of the people?" 

Stuart's father said that his son had two requests after he was arrested: one, for his attorney to be called. Second, the Marine asked his dad to "tell everyone."

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"They are trying to bury our son," Cathy said, adding that she was doing her best to keep their grandkids sheltered from "all this."

"I do want to say thank you to the American people, and I want to ask them to, if possible, to pray, to contact your congressmen, and to donate," Cathy said. 
 
After the Taliban took over Kabul while the Afghanistan withdrawal was ongoing, 13 service members, were killed in an ISIS-K terror attack at a gate outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport. Ten of the 13 killed were U.S. Marines. 

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