The MAGA world has raised more than $2 million for a Marine officer who went viral for criticizing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and saying he wanted to “bring the whole fucking system down.”
The officer in question, however, has now made a blistering attack on former one-term President Trump.
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a decorated battalion commander, has been released from pre-trial confinement in a military prison as the US Marine Corps considers whether to charge him for criticizing the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The right-wing Pipe Hitter Foundation has been raising money for Scheller.
The foundation is run by the former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was convicted in 2019 after posing for a photo with the body of an Islamic State captive.
Trump granted him clemency in November 2020.
The appeal had raised more than two and a half million dollars, as Scheller had been celebrated as a hero across right-wing politics.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Madison Cawthorn have backed him, and dozens of Republicans, led by Rep. Louie Gohmert, signed a letter calling for Scheller’s release.
Scheller, however, has publically renounced any help from Trump or his followers, saying he would “rather sit in jail.”
He also said that Trump was responsible for “dividing our country.”
Writing on his Facebook page on September 25, he said: “President Trump. I was told by everyone to kiss the ring because of your following and power. I refuse. While I respect your foreign policy positions, I hate how you divided the country. I don’t need or want your help. You do not have the ability to pull US together. You may even win the next election. But your generation’s time is running out.’
Next Schiller took aim at Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, stating: “Tell your son to stop tweeting about me. Your whole family knows nothing about [the] U.S. or our sacrifices. I could never work with you. I’d rather sit in jail and be released with a dishonorable [discharge] than make compromises in my beliefs.”
Trumpist donors, by the hundreds, are beside themselves.
One donor who identified herself as Barbra wrote: “What a scam artist you are! Worse than BLM last year! Give the money back! Cry baby! You are mental and your kids and wife will suffer. Karma all the way here. You knew damn well what you were doing to prey on people for Money!”
Barbra, by her own account, had given $3.
She concluded: “A real Marine doesn’t have mommy and daddy crying for him!”
Scheller now faces a series of serious charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including charges of “willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer” and “failure to obey an order.”