Ex-Army Major Richard Ojeda Slams Trump For Blackwater Pardons: ‘They Did Not Give Two Sh*ts’ About Who They Killed

Former state representative and retired Army Major Richard Ojeda (D) blasted President Donald Trump for his pardon of four contractors with the private military firm, Blackwater. Ojeda voted for Trump in 2016 and has later publicly acknowledged that was a mistake.

Trump released a flurry of pardons on Tuesday night, granting clemency to public figures connected to the Russia investigation, multiple former Republican congressmen convicted for corruption, and the four Blackwater contractors, who were convicted for killing Iraqi civilians in 2007. This comes shortly after Trump pardoned his former White House national security adviser, Michael Flynn, which raised questions for weeks about who else might get pardoned before Trump leaves office.

Ojeda posted his reaction to the news on Twitter, saying he was “sickened” by the Blackwater pardons.

Erik Prince and his #Blackwater asshole goons are pieces of shit. Most people don’t know the details about what happened in Iraq. Well I was there. This is just another slap in the face to the Iraqi people and to the honorable men and women of our military. #Airborne pic.twitter.com/9mLqiFQExs

— Richard N. Ojeda, II (@Ojeda4America) December 23, 2020

“Those guys would drive through frigging areas and just frigging randomly shoot at people,” he said. “They would cause so much trouble for other active-duty units coming through areas. We would end up finding ourselves going through an area that had become a hornet’s nest because previously, they drove through there shooting shit up…They did not give two sh*ts.”

Ojeda went on to determine “this is nothing more than Donald Trump doing something good for his good ol’ buddy Erik Prince.”

“There were innocent people that lost their lives, but I guess it’s okay if they were Iraqi,” he sarcastically continued. “It’s an absolute shame. What a disgrace.”

Ojeda was hardly alone in his criticism. Numerous people blasted Trump for his 11th-hour pardons, not the least of which was this Twitter thread about the youngest victim killed by the Blackwater contractors and the legal case against them.

Ali was sitting in the back seat of his father’s SUV with two of his cousins. Blackwater riddled the car with bullets. Ali’s father was driving. When the shooting stopped they thought they had experienced a miracle that they were safe.

— A Damn Lawyer (@adamnlawyer) December 23, 2020

Nicholas Slatten
Dustin L. Heard
Evan S. Liberty
Paul A. Slough

The Blackwater guards convicted of killing Ali Kinani and over a dozen other innocent Iraqi civilians were pardoned today by Donald Trump.

— A Damn Lawyer (@adamnlawyer) December 23, 2020

Blackwater had disobeyed a directive to stay in the Green Zone. Instead, they entered Nisour Square, blocked traffic, and began firing into the cars of innocent civilians.

— A Damn Lawyer (@adamnlawyer) December 23, 2020

Dozen of witnesses were brought from Iraq to DC for the trial. The prosecution’s first witness was Ali’s father Mohammed Kinani. He testified for two days explaining the savage attack by the Blackwater men.

— A Damn Lawyer (@adamnlawyer) December 23, 2020

I deposed the Blackwater guard who confessed to being one of the shooters. Blackwater trained these men in Moyock, North Carolina. Blackwater paid these men – and Erik Prince made millions selling their services to the US government.

— A Damn Lawyer (@adamnlawyer) December 23, 2020

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