A former Marine battalion commander pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including conduct unbecoming an officer after he complained about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in online videos that made him well-known in conservative political circles.
During the court-martial at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller entered the plea to charges that also include failure to obey order or regulation, his attorney Tim Parlatore said in a text message. A sentencing hearing followed the morning proceedings and adjourned late Thursday afternoon. It will resume Friday morning, when a decision is expected.
Speaking on his own behalf, Scheller told a judge he made his comments 鈥渂ecause I thought it was in the best long-term interest of the Marine Corps,鈥� of Jacksonville reported.
Scheller said he went public instead of through 鈥渢he proper channels鈥� because, otherwise, his complaints would not have been heard by the commandant of the Marine Corps, the U.S. secretary of defense or American public.
鈥淎t no time did I advocate for the violent overthrow of the government,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t no time did I ever say I was going to use violence.鈥�
In an Aug. 26 video posted on Facebook, Scheller said he was willing to risk his career to call out military leaders regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan after 13 U.S. troops were killed in Kabul.
鈥淚 am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: I demand accountability," he said in the video while wearing a camouflage uniform.
Scheller followed that comment with a series of social media posts, including an Aug. 29 video in which he resigned his commission and said 鈥渇ollow me and we will bring down the whole 鈥� system.鈥� On Thursday, he said that remark was meant 鈥渋n a constitutional manner.鈥�
Scheller continued to speak out, and on Sept. 27, he was placed in pretrial confinement at Camp Lejeune.
After his videos attracted numerous views, he became the subject of a fundraising campaign and received the support of a nonprofit legal defense fund for former service members.
In a sign of support, two Republican members of Congress testified Thursday on his behalf 鈥� Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia by teleconference and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas of Jacksonville reported.
鈥淣obody has owned up. Nobody has taken accountability鈥� for the situation in Afghanistan, Gohmert said, adding that the judge should take into account that Scheller 鈥渋s an honest guy鈥� when sentencing him.
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