Stuart Scheller: Marine who criticised Afghan withdrawal freed from military prison ahead of possible court-martial

More than $2.5m has been raised for the Marine’s legal fund

Lt Col Stuart Scheller has been released from pre-trial confinement in a military prison as the US Marine Corps considers whether to charge him for criticising the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Scheller was released shortly before facing a hearing on Tuesday at the North Carolina military base Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps spokesman confirmed to The Independent. He said the release was a “mutual agreement” between Mr Scheller, his defence attorney and the US Marines.

Mr Scheller rose to national prominence after publicly criticising the withdrawal of US troops, citizens and allies from Afghanistan, which left 13 Americans dead.

He was fired on 27 August after calling on his supporters to help him to “bring the whole f***ing system down”.

Despite a “gag order”, he continued to call for accountability from the US military’s leadership, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, and announced his intentions to charge the head of US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie Jr, with “dereliction of duty”.

His supporters raised more than $2.5m in donations since he was taken into custody on 27 September, while more than two dozen members of Congress formally wrote to the US Marine Corps Commander, General Berger, seeking his release.

His release came as the trial was delayed amid requests from media to make the hearing public, The Washington Times reported. The case has been closed to the public and members of the media requested a delay so they could object to the closed hearing in federal court.

While it is unclear what charges Mr Scheller might face, his father Stuart Scheller Sr told Task & Purpose last week that he had been issued a “gag order” before he was arrested.

“All our son did is ask the questions that everybody was asking themselves, but they were too scared to speak out loud,” Mr Scheller Sr said. “He was asking for accountability. In fact, I think he even asked for an apology that we made mistakes, but they couldn’t do that, which is mind-blowing.”

He added during an appearance on Fox News that his son wouldn’t have been imprisoned if Donald Trump was president during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The $2.5m raised for Mr Scheller has been boosted in part by supporters of Mr Trump despite supporter the marine’s public disdain for the former president.

Shortly before he was thrown in the brig, Mr Scheller wrote on his Facebook page that he’d rather “sit in jail” than receive help from the former president.

“President Trump. I was told by everyone to kiss the ring because of your following and power. I refuse. While I respect your foreign policy positions, I hate how you divided the country. I don’t need or want your help,” Mr Scheller wrote

“Tell your son to stop tweeting about me. Your whole family knows nothing about US or our sacrifices. I could never work with you. I’d rather sit in jail and be released with a dishonourable than make compromises in my beliefs,” he added.