Blog

Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher

Washington, D.C., March 28, 2019

It's important that Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher receive a fair and impartial trial. And I have full confidence that will happen. In the meantime, however, he remains innocent until proven otherwise.

Chief Gallagher is a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, and served our nation on eight tours of duty under conditions most of us could not fathom. He deserves to be treated with dignity during this process.

Since his arrest, Chief Gallagher has been kept in very restrictive pre-trial confinement at the naval brig in San Diego. I join many of my colleagues in Congress, and the Gallagher family, in questioning whether that level of incarceration is warranted for this decorated soldier, and ask whether a less restrictive form of custody is perhaps more appropriate, such as base confinement.

To be clear, Chief Gallagher will have his day in court. But the conditions of his pre-trial confinement are nearly identical to those of someone who has been convicted, not someone who still has the presumption of innocence. He deserves better.