Criticism of US Afghanistan withdrawal leads to court-martial, ex-Marine commander to plead guilty

A former Marine battalion commander relieved of his duties after he made comments critical of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan will plead guilty in a special court-martial, his attorney said Wednesday.

Tim Parlatore, an attorney representing Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, told The Associated Press that his client will accept responsibility for his actions during the court-martial scheduled to begin Thursday at Camp Lejeune.

Parlatore said that after Scheller pleads guilty, there will be a sentencing hearing that he expects will last two days.

In an Aug. 26 video, Scheller demanded accountability from military leaders regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan after 13 US troops were killed in Kabul, The Daily News of Jacksonville reported. The next day, Scheller was relieved of his command at the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Geiger, which is a facility at Camp Lejeune.

Scheller followed his comments with a series of social media posts, including an Aug. 29 video in which he resigned his commission and said “follow me and we will bring down the whole … system.” He continued to speak out, and on Sept. 27, Scheller was placed in pretrial confinement at Camp Lejeune, the newspaper reported.