Man who claimed war crimes in Iraq charged with falsifying record

Seattle P-I ^ | May 18 | Gene Johnson

[darkangel82]

SEATTLE -- A man who tried to position himself as a leader of the anti-war movement by claiming to have participated in war crimes while serving in Iraq is facing federal charges of falsifying his record.

Jesse Adam Macbeth, 23, formerly of Phoenix, garnered much attention on blogs and in some alternative media after he began claiming in 2005 to have been awarded a Purple Heart for his service, which he said included slaughtering innocents in a Fallujah mosque. His story was contradicted by his true discharge form, showing that he was kicked out of the Army after six weeks at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2003 because of his "entry level performance and conduct."

A complaint unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle charged him with one count of using or possessing a forged or altered military discharge certificate, and one count of making false statements in seeking benefits from the Veterans Administration.

"He approached us in early 2006, posing as a war veteran. He seemed very emotionally distressed about his experiences," said Amadee Braxton, a spokeswoman for Iraq Veterans Against the War, based in Philadelphia. "We later found out he had fabricated a lot of his military record and that he was somebody who had mental problems. We hoped that he would get those issues dealt with."

Macbeth claimed to have served from May 2001 to June 2004, to have been shot in Iraq and to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, LaMont E. Stokes, an agent with the VA's Office of the Inspector General, wrote in the charging papers. The man collected more than $10,400 in benefits to which he was not entitled, Stokes wrote.

[Horatio Gates]

I was with the Green Berets, Special Unit Battalions... Commando Airborne Tactics... Specialist Tactics Unit Battalion. Yeah, it was real hush hush. I was Agent Orange, Special Agent Orange, that was me.