The jury assigned to the case of accused Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher has found the decorated Navy SEAL not guilty of murder and attempted murder after a whirlwind trial that included bombshell revelations and twists.
The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before. The jury did find Gallagher guilty of unlawfully taking a picture with the corpse of the teenage ISIS fighter he was accused of killing.
“Our stance from the very beginning of this has been that Eddie needs to have a fair trial and we’re going to stand behind him no matter what because he’s our brother. And the courts have prevailed,” Brad Bailey, president of the Navy SEALs Fund, told the Washington Examiner. “We understand that it’s a very contentious accusation and one that deeply divided our community. And I hope that everyone can learn a lot from this on both sides and we can get back to taking care of business.”
Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017. Seven members of Gallagher’s own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing their chief as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy.