Dozens of lawmakers demand release of Marine lieutenant colonel from pretrial confinement

From the article:
More than two dozen members of Congress signed a letter demanding that the commandant of the Marine Corps release from the brig Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the former battalion commander who went viral for criticizing his chain of command.

Scheller was placed in pre-trial confinement on Monday and accused of violating four offenses under the UCMJ: Article 88: Contempt toward officials, Article 90: Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, Article 92: Failure to obey an order, and Article 133: Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.




In their letter to Marine Gen. David Berger, 27 Republican lawmakers cited several of the military’s rules for court martial — namely that the confined service member’s commander must demonstrate that the service member will skip the trial or break other laws if released. In the letter, they suggested that Scheller’s pretrial confinement “appears to be simply for messaging, retribution and convenience in flagrant violation of RCM 305(h)(2)(B), ‘a person should not be confined as a mere matter of convenience,’” they wrote, referring to the military’s rules for court martial.

Scheller’s father told Task & Purpose that his son’s superiors had told him to stop speaking out, a demand which the Marine had violated.

“They had a gag order on him and asked him not to speak,” Stu Scheller Sr. told Task & Purpose. “He did, and they incarcerated him. They don’t know what to do with him.”