Navy SEAL acquitted of murder in killing of captive in Iraq
SAN DIEGO — A decorated Navy SEAL was acquitted Tuesday of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017.
The verdict was met with an outpouring of emotion as the military jury also cleared Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of attempted murder in the shootings of two civilians and all other charges except for posing for photos with the body of the dead captive.
The case exposed a generational conflict within the ranks of the elite special forces group and the outcome dealt a major blow to one of the military’s most high-profile war crimes cases.
Gallagher, 40, cried “tears of joy, emotion, freedom and absolute euphoria,” defense lawyer Marc Mukasey said. Family and friends clutched each other in relief in the courtroom.
“Suffice it to say this is a huge victory,” Mukasey said outside court. “It’s a huge weight off the Gallaghers.”
Defense lawyers said Gallagher was framed by junior disgruntled platoon members who fabricated the allegations to oust their chief. They said there was no physical evidence to support the allegations because no corpse was ever recovered and examined by a pathologist.
The prosecution said Gallagher was incriminated by his own text messages and photos, including one of him holding the dead militant up by the hair and clutching a knife in his other hand.
“Got him with my hunting knife,” Gallagher wrote in a text with the photo.
The defense said it was just gallows humor and pointed out that almost all platoon members who testified against him also posed with the corpse.
Gallagher’s family championed a “Free Eddie” campaign that won the support of dozens of congressional Republicans who brought the case to the attention of President Donald Trump.
Trump had Gallagher moved from the brig to more favorable confinement at a Navy hospital this spring and was reportedly considering a pardon for him.
Gallagher could face up to four months’ imprisonment for the one conviction along with a reduction in rank, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay and a reprimand.
Having already served nearly seven months in jail awaiting trial, defense lawyers said they expected the same jury would free him.
The case provided a rare glimpse of a deep division in the insular and respected SEAL community. The group of men who spoke up about Gallagher referred to themselves in a chat group as “The Sewing Circle” and saw themselves as a counter to an old guard that would adhere to a code of silence even in the face of war crimes.