Hegseth's Guard Left the Army After the Beating of a Civilian During Training
Source: New York Times
Hegseth’s Guard Left the Army After the Beating of a Civilian During Training
John Hasenbein, who has escorted Donald J. Trump’s pick for defense secretary to meetings on Capitol Hill, said he was unjustly prosecuted for the 2019 episode.
John Jacob Hasenbein, left, has been a regular presence on Capitol Hill this month, accompanying Pete Hegseth to meet senators. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
By Dave Philipps and Sharon LaFraniere
Dave Philipps covers the military. Sharon LaFraniere reports on cabinet appointments.
Dec. 16, 2024
Updated 2:51 p.m. ET
When Pete Hegseth visited senators on Capitol Hill this month in an effort to show that he has the qualifications and judgment to lead the Defense Department, he was escorted by a security guard with a dark episode in his past. ... The guard, a former Army Special Forces master sergeant named John Jacob “Jay” Hasenbein, left the military after a 2019 training event in which witnesses said he beat a civilian role player — kicking him, punching him and leaving him hogtied in a pool of his own blood.
Mr. Hegseth’s choice of Mr. Hasenbein as a security escort is the latest instance in which he has stood by soldiers accused of crimes. He has repeatedly criticized military leaders as being too “woke” and waging a “war on warriors.” ... In this case, Timothy Parlatore, Mr. Hegseth’s lawyer, said Mr. Hasenbein was the “victim of unjust treatment by a broken military justice system,” and Mr. Hegseth was proud to work with him. He added, “It is stories like his that demonstrate the change needed in the Department of Defense.”
The Army charged Mr. Hasenbein with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. A military jury found him guilty of the assault charge in a court-martial in 2020, according to Army records. But the judge overseeing the case declared a mistrial after learning that a friend of Mr. Hasenbein had been talking to a juror throughout the trial, court records show. The Army did not retry the case. ... “This guy has real anger issues,” Ahmed Altameemi, the man whom Mr. Hasenbein was charged with assaulting, said in an interview. “He is not a safe man. I don’t know why they gave him this position. Don’t they do any background checks?”
Mr. Hasenbein provided The New York Times with several official records involving his service and the case against him, along with a statement in a text message: “I have no conviction and I was honorably retired after 22 years of service. That’s all you need to know.” ... Timothy Turner, senior counsel at the firm that represented Mr. Hasenbein in a defamation case that he filed after the court-martial proceedings, said that Mr. Hasenbein agreed to retire rather than face another trial. Mr. Hasenbein claimed in that case that he was effectively forced out of the military because of false and misleading statements by employees of the independent contractor who conducted the exercise.
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Ahmed Altameemi sustained numerous head injuries after an assault during the 2019 military exercise. via Ahmed Altameemi
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Julie Tate contributed research.
Dave Philipps writes about war, the military and veterans and covers The Pentagon. More about Dave Philipps
Sharon LaFraniere is an investigative reporter currently focusing on Republican candidates in the 2024 presidential election. More about Sharon LaFraniere
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/us/politics/hegseth-bodyguard-army.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
better snatch that effer up fast, he's the perfect killing machine 
... violent history was seen as a strength, not a weakness, in hiring. So, a background check would have not have resulted in a disqualification. It's more like, "That's my guard."
