A second Navy Seal has been charged for his involvement in a stabbing of an Islamic State Detainee in Iraq though he wasn’t present at the time Lt. Jacob “Jake” Portier is under investigation under suspicion that he covered up the war crimes allegedly committed by Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher.
According to FOX5SanDiego two San Diego-based U.S. Navy SEALs have been charged in connection with the 2017 execution of a detainee in Iraq.
SEAL officials told the Navy Times that Lt. Jacob “Jake” Portier faces an Article 32 hearing on suspicion of covering up a string of war crimes allegedly committed by Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe involves the death of a wounded Islamic State fighter near Mosul, Iraq in May 2017, the Navy Times reported.
Prosecutors allege Gallagher stabbed and killed the wounded man, posed for a photograph next to the body and opted to complete his re-enlistment ceremony next to the corpse, bringing “discredit upon the armed forces.”
Gallagher is also accused of shooting two non-combatants in separate incidents near Mosul, the Navy Times reported.
An MCAS Miramar spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Gallagher was arrested on Sept. 11 and is being detained at the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, under Rules for Court-Martial 305, the Navy Times reported.
Portier, who is accused of dereliction of duty, was not present at the time of the alleged killing, the Navy Times reported. He was Gallagher’s platoon leader during…