Marine impostor – anti-war activist – may not be charged

We’ve heard about a few cases – some prominent – of anti-war protesters who claimed to be in the armed services. Today we learn one impostor, Rick Strandlof, may not be charged federally under the Stolen Valor Act.

Rick Strandlof was a criminal who could have been charged by the Colorado United States Attorney’s office, but it does not look like that will happen. Why won’t the US attorney prosecute after the FBI presented its case? When MOTHAX at the Burn Pit tracked down an FBI agent familiar with the case, the agent…

… made it abundantly clear that it was the US Attorney’s decision alone to drop the case (which he seemed to disagree with) and that he was not authorized to tell me much more than that. He did inform me that the process is that the office of the US Attorney will send a letter to the FBI declining to prosecute on the charge, and generally contain the reasoning such a decision was made. He said he had not as yet received that letter, nor would he be at liberty to release it to me even if he had.

These despicable activities chip away at the true legacy of those who fought bravely in combat to protect the United States. In December of 2006, President Bush signed the Stolen Valor Act, which in part, made it a federal misdemeanor to fraudulently claim to be a recipient of medals including the Purple Heart.

Here is some background.

Rick Duncan was a Marine with a compelling story to tell, and tell it he did, to anyone who would listen. A graduate of the Naval Academy, Rick had been in the Pentagon when the plane hit on September 11, 2001. Volunteering for duty in Iraq, Duncan rose to the rank of Captain, and although openly gay, was assigned to lead a Marine Battalion in the battle of Fallujah. During the house to house battles there he had a finger shot off and suffered a severe head injury that required a plate be put in his head. He returned to the states disillusioned with the war and became executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

Partisan, MoveOn.com-ally VoteVets asked Duncan to be a blogger for them where he wrote under the handle of “USMCinCO.” The radical anti-war group “Iraq Veterans Against the War” (which does not require service in Iraq) asked Capt. Duncan to appear at several of their events to talk about his experiences. Various candidates for state and Federal offices in Colorado during the last election cycle asked Duncan to appear in their political commercials.

But Rick Duncan never existed. …(read more)

Duncan (real surname Strandlof) was exposed in May this year.

There have been other fakes too, many joining organizations who used the testimony they provided against the Bush administration and the efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world to protect our country.

Hat tip to BlackFive.