SEAL is demoted but spared jail for posing with dead Iraqi captive
SAN DIEGO — A Navy SEAL who was acquitted of killing a wounded Islamic State captive but convicted of posing with the corpse was sentenced by a military jury Wednesday to a reduction in rank and four months of confinement.
A judge, however, credited Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher with enough time already spent in custody to ensure he won’t be locked up.
Gallagher turned to his wife, shook his head and pretended to unpin his “anchors” — the insignia of a chief — and fling them across the courtroom. He then smiled and hugged her.
The sentencing came after Gallagher addressed the jury that had acquitted him Tuesday of murder, attempted murder and other counts stemming from an incident during a 2017 deployment to Iraq.
“I put a black eye on the two communities that I love the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy — specifically the SEAL community,” he said.
He said he tried to lead by example but didn’t always succeed.
“I’m not perfect, but I’ve always bounced back from my mistakes. I’m ready to bounce back from this,” he said.
The jury reduced Gallagher’s rank by one grade to petty officer 1st class and ordered his monthly pay cut by $2,697 for four months.
The judge then modified the sentence, capping the pay cut at two months and giving Gallagher 60 days’ credit for being held in overly harsh conditions before being tried and being deprived of treatment for a traumatic brain injury.
Gallagher also got credit for 201 days of pretrial confinement.
President Donald Trump, who intervened this year to have Gallagher moved from the brig to less restrictive confinement, tweeted congratulations to the SEAL and his family.
“You have been through much together. Glad I could help!” the president wrote.
Defense lawyers said Gallagher was framed by junior disgruntled platoon members who fabricated the allegations to oust their chief.
The outcome dealt a blow to one of the Navy’s most high-profile war crimes cases and exposed a generational conflict within the ranks of the elite special operations forces.
Asked in an interview Wednesday on Fox what his message might be to future Navy SEALs, Gallagher said he would tell them that “loyalty is a trait that seems to be lost.”