Sgt. Micah Turner

Military police were informed of the Army deserter’s whereabouts all along. What motivated their choice of time and location of arrest?

Micah Turner, Army Sargeant turned anti-war protestor, was arrested in early January* at his parents’ home after spending three months in legal limbo. He deserted his unit in September and later went public with his AWOL status and opposition to the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

His arrest follows two attempts to turn himself in at Fort Hamilton in October. He reportedly was turned away because no one was available to process an arrest on a federal holiday.

Military police, however, appear to have kept an eye on his movements since then and waited until he returned to his parents’ home for Christmas. He’s currently being held at Fort Irwin and will soon be transferred to Fort Bragg, where his Army unit is based.

According to his Twitter feed (@Unoccupier), which is being maintained by a friend, “Micah’s unit at Fort Bragg has authority to decide whether to retain, reprimand, prosecute, and/or discharge him.” It may also decide whether to hold him in pre-trial confinement. Supporters are organizing a campaign to advocate discharge rather than prosecution.

Turner was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan five times.

On countless occasions, we gave the state ample warning of the time, place, and location where they could arrest Micah. They were afraid to.

—
Free Micah Turner (@Unoccupier) January 11, 2013

* [An earlier version of this post stated that Turner had been arrested on January 10, but his arrest occurred no later than January 3.]

Related articles

• AWOL combat veteran turned war protestor faces uncertain fate (coolrevolution.net)
• Turned away by military police, Sgt. Micah Turner says he’s “on the run” (coolrevolution.net)