Posted on 05/19/2007 7:29:11 PM PDT by Graybeard58
SEATTLE -- A man who tried to position himself as a leader of the anti-war movement by claiming to have participated in war crimes while serving in Iraq is facing federal charges of falsifying his record.
Jesse Adam Macbeth, 23, formerly of Phoenix, garnered attention on blogs and in some alternative media after he began claiming in 2005 to have been awarded a Purple Heart for his service, which he said included slaughtering innocents in a Fallujah mosque. His story was contradicted by his discharge form, showing that he was kicked out of the Army after six weeks at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2003 because of his "entry level performance and conduct."
A complaint unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle charged him with one count of using or possessing a forged military discharge certificate, and one count of making false statements in seeking benefits from the Veterans Administration.
Macbeth's public defender, Jay Stansell, declined to comment.
Organizations that opposed the war, including Iraq Veterans Against the War, posted videos or statements containing Macbeth's claims on their Web sites.
In one videotaped interview, a skinny, stuttering Macbeth, dressed in a camouflage jacket, described slaughtering hundreds of people in a mosque: "We would burn their bodies ... hang their bodies from the rafters in the mosque," he said.
Iraq Veterans Against the War and other organizations removed the claims after learning they were false.
"He approached us in early 2006, posing as a war veteran. He seemed very emotionally distressed about his experiences," said Amadee Braxton, a spokeswoman for Iraq Veterans Against the War, based in Philadelphia.
Macbeth claimed in an application for benefits to have served from May 2001 to June 2004, to have been shot in Iraq and to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, LaMont E. Stokes, an agent with the VA's Office of the Inspector General, wrote in the charging papers. He also collected more than $10,400 in benefits to which he was not entitled, Stokes wrote.
Stokes said he interviewed Macbeth in a Tacoma jail, where he has been serving a sentence for fourth-degree assault, and that Macbeth admitted falsifying the documents because he was homeless and wanted to "sucker" anything he could out of the government.
I thought he seemed like a bad liar. I guess we all see what we want to see. The only difference is, I was right.
Shades of John F. Kerry.
Well, that’s one liar down. Now, can we work on prosecuting a good percentage of our Congress? You want liars and frauds, well, Congress would be the jackpot.
I suspect there are more pretenders among them but like you say. They only see what they want to see.
He should be charged with treason. Seriously.
One consistent trait of the left is that it’s never put off by anyone telling the right kind of lies, whether it’s Bill Clinton, Dan Rather or Michael Moore. Deep down they all realize that the truth is not their friend.
—Shades of John F. Kerry.—
Exactly. Macbeth is the equivalent of that Hubbard guy of Vietnam Vets Against the War, who made up claims of U.S. atrocities while never actually having served in Vietnam.
Heck, this Macbeth is just a copycat coward.
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No Joke.
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JOHN KERRY =
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Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education (SLAVE LABOR) Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
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..”JOURNEY from the FALL”.. MoviePremieres = Fall of Saigon CLARITY..
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1806248/posts
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No intent to hijack the thread: The statement above could be true of all the illegals and we are about to bend over because our politicians want a warm fuzzy.
Did he also falsify his medical records?
If hoodwinking the VA is this easy, maybe the paper chase to file for my Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (Agent Orange) compensation isn't so tough either. Whoops. Screwed up. I'm in remission. Too late.
But.... but..... but... It was seared, SEARED into his memory!
I hope they prosecute this dirt bag to the fullest extent possible.
Sounds good to me. Mandatory prison sentences for anyone who says "this is not amnesty."
Material aid and comfort to the enemy? I don’t think this meets the definition. He’ll do jail time though.
The moonbats will just claim that the government is framing him to shut him up. It just proves the Bush adminstration is covering up.
After watching the performances today of the local commie bedwetters at our local Armed Forces Day Parade I am truly astounded and disgusted beyond words by these people. Libtards is truly and understatement!
Yeah, when two witnesses lied about her actions.
All I’m saying is that just because some mental case makes up a bunch of anti-war stuff doesn’t mean he can be successfully prosecuted for treason. Material aid and comfort is the definition. Note, I don’t like the guy or what he did, but it’s going to take a lot more than wishful thinking about it to prosecute him for treason.
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