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Robert Bragg-Newbridge Securities Broker-Discloses Customer Disputes Over Alternative Investments- Monument, CO
Robert Bragg-Newbridge Securities Broker-Discloses Customer Disputes Over Alternative Investments- Monument, CO
Robert C. Bragg Investigation Monument, Colorado According to publicly available records Robert Charles Bragg, a broker who works for Newbridge Securities, discloses a pending customer dispute and a prior regulatory matter. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the agency that licenses and regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms. FINRA requires brokers and brokerage firms to…
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#Falcon Financial Services#how to recover losses from VSR Financial#Newbridge Financial Services Group#recover investment losses#robert bragg investigation#Robert C. Bragg#Robert C. Bragg Investigation#texas securities attorney#texas securities fraud lawyer#vsr financial alternative investment#vsr financial complaints#vsr financial finra discipline#VSR Financial Services litigation
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A Month of Islam in America: March 2019
A Month of Islam in America: March 2019
When Democrats took over the House after the 2018 elections, the House Homeland Security monthly report on terror, aka the Terror Threat Snapshot, was not only discontinued but previous reports were deleted from the government website. This is our version with a focus on Islamization in the U.S. that is much broader than just terror (jihad).
This month’s theme is one liberals and Muslims claim to champion: Diversity. As seen below, they are indeed diverse, but they all have one thing in common: Islam.
Links below may not work unless you know how to find archived posts because the tech police are now enforcing sharia law on Americans. You can easily search the names of the perpetrators and find articles on mainstream news sites or search for the described incident for more details. We likely won’t have time to rebuild all the links but are posting here for reference.
Future generations will thank you!
March 2019
Jihad & Terror
New Jersey: Muslim Sentenced to 16 Years Prison for NYC Bomb Plot on Behalf of ISIS
Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for planning to construct and use a pressure cooker bomb in New York on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Wisconsin: Muslim convert in Milwaukee who tried to join ISIS gets seven years
Jason Ludke pleaded guilty in October. He committed the crime while on supervision for threatening to kill a federal judge and bomb a Green Bay courthouse. He had cut off a GPS monitoring bracelet before leaving for Texas.
Georgia: Muslim Woman Arrested For Conspiring To Provide Material Support To ISIS
KIM ANH VO joined the United Cyber Caliphate (the “UCC”), an online group that pledged allegiance to ISIS and committed to carrying out online attacks and cyber intrusions against Americans.
New Mexico: Muslims who ran Islamic compound charged with planning terror attacks in the U.S.
A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, New Mexico returned a superseding indictment on March 13 charging Jany Leveille, 36, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 38, Subhanah Wahhaj, 36, and Lucas Morton, 41, with federal offenses related to terrorism, kidnapping and firearms violations.
The superseding indictment charges all of the defendants with participating in a conspiracy from October 2017 to August 2018 to provide material support and resources, including currency, training, weapons, and personnel, knowing and intending that they were to be used in preparation for and in carrying out attacks to kill officers and employees of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A.
Sidebar: Terror-linked CAIR offered them condolences (pic at right)
California man threatens to kill First Baptist Dallas pastor ‘in the name of Allah’
“I will assassinate your pastor in the name of Allah,” said a portion of the letter quoted in federal court documents. “I will burn down Christian churches … this is a threat.”
Missouri: Muslim Refugee Pleads Guilty to Providing Material Support to Terrorists
Armin Harcevic, 41, pled guilty today to an indictment in this case that charged him with one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and one count of providing material support to terrorists.
Wisconsin: Muslim woman pleads guilty to providing support to ISIS
Waheba Dais used social media sites to promote ISIS ideology.
Prosecutors say the 45-year-old woman hacked at least five Facebook accounts. She allegedly used them to pledge allegiance to ISIS and attempt to recruit others to join and conduct attacks on the terror group’s behalf.
Court documents go on to say Dais posted videos with instructions for making explosive vests and bombs — and exchanged information with other suspected ISIS sympathizers on how to make poison.
North Dakota: Somali Woman Charged With Terrorizing Neighborhood Was Previously Tied to Human Sex Trafficking Case
Hawo Osman Ahmed, 26, is charged with a Class C felony of Terrorizing stemming from an incident last November 29 when she confronted three women from her Grand Forks apartment complex with a knife. According to a Grand Forks Police Department affidavit filed in the case, Ahmed said to the women “I’m going to bust all your tires on your car and windows,” “Come over here I’m going to cut you,” and “I’m going to slice your neck,” all while holding the weapon.
North Carolina: Jordanian Muslim who tried to access Fort Bragg special ops facility faces 7 charges, deportation
Court proceedings for Nouran Ahmad Shiba Sueidan were held before Judge Robert T. Numbers in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
″[ICE] will seek to take him into custody for removal proceedings following the resolution of the criminal charges he currently faces,” Bryan Cox, a spokesman for the agency’s southern region, said last week.
Illinois: Bosnian refugee woman pleads guilty to funding fellow Muslim who died waging jihad in Syria
An Illinois woman on Thursday pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists for her role in funding a St. Louis County man who fought and died in Syria.
Mediha Medy Salkicevic, 38, of Schiller Park, Illinois, agreed with prosecutors’ claims that she sent money via PayPal to co-defendant Ramiz Hodzic, who then used the money to buy supplies that he sent to Syria. Salkicevic could face up to 15 years in prison at her sentencing in June, although defense lawyer Joan Miller said she expected a lot less. Salkicevic, originally from Bosnia, is now a U.S. citizen, Miller said.
Philadelphia: Mosque under investigation after child bride says “husband” sexually assaulted her 10-year old sister
Police are now investigating whether child weddings are being conducted at a Philadelphia mosque after a sexual assault victim comes forward to Action News.
In a Facebook video posted two weeks ago, one of the alleged victims describes her ordeal. She’s 17 now but says she first became a child bride at 14.
She says it didn’t last. And in 2016, she says she was married off to Rajmann Sanders, a man more than twice her age who then allegedly began sexually assaulting her and her 10-year-old sister.
Islamic Rape & Violence Against Americans
Dem Senator Kirsten Gillibrand fires Muslim aide after Politico investigates sexual harassment claims against him
Minnesota: Muslim immigrant who raped 10-year old girl gets just 12 years prison
Immigration Jihad in America
California: How did a Muslim refugee – arrested for ISIS cop killing – get into the U.S.? (VIDEO)
New York: “In Collaboration With NYPD,” Muslims Begin Muslim Community Patrol
Kansas: Overland Park Planning Commission Approves Muslim Brotherhood Mosque Expansion Next to Public Schools
Sharia in Your Community
Illinois: Chicago imam says Islamic caliphate our ultimate aim
Dallas: Outfront Media Refuses Billboard Offering Help to Muslim Girls at Risk of Honor Violence, Runs Ads Promoting Hijab
Minnesota: New task force led by Muslim AG and terror-linked Muslim groups may get opportunity to enforce Islamic blasphemy laws
Amazon Bans Tommy Robinson’s Book, ‘Mohammed’s Koran���, Mein Kampf Still Available
Sharia in American Education
Houston: Muslim Children Sing: ‘Allah Akbar, Khamenei Is Our Leader…We Are Your Soldiers’ (VIDEO)
Tennessee: Nashville charter school uses supremacist hadiths to teach Islam
Arkansas: Public high school teacher uses art project to indoctrinate students in Islamic faith
Student-housing deal structured to comply with Islamic sharia law includes 911 units in five U.S. cities
Sharia Adherents in Elected Office
San Francisco: Judge frees Muslim terror suspect who had one-way ticket, talked of killing U.S. soldiers
Virginia: Anti-Semitic Tweeting Muslim Democrat with Hamas-linked Donors Wins Special Election
Special election results in first Muslim woman “hijabi” in Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Florida: Terror-Connected Muslim Lawyer Running for City Commissioner of Coral Springs
Tennessee: Days before inauguration, Gov. Bill Lee prioritized meeting Muslim Council while denying requests for meetings with non-Muslim groups
Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar Holding Secret Fundraisers with Terror-linked Islamic Groups
Minnesota: Bill Will Ban Driving With Mobile Phone…Unless Phone is in a Hijab or Scarf
Arizona: Democrat Senate Candidate Mark Kelly Returns Thousands To United Arab Emirates
Pennsylvania: Dems, Specially-Elected Muslim Lawmaker Decry Opening Prayer as Divisive; Applaud Koran Reading
New Jersey Politicians Blind to Travel Agent’s Muslim Brotherhood Connections
Fraud for Jihad in America
Connecticut: Syrian Psychiatrist Agrees to Pay $3.38 Million to Settle Medicare, Medicaid Fraud
Louisiana: Muslim – who plotted to kill girlfriend’s unborn baby – arrested in $1.2M food stamp fraud
Florida: Davenport doctor settles health care fraud lawsuit for $2.2M
And last, a rare month where the sharia onslaught was halted, albeit temporarily, in multiple cases:
California: Anti-Islamophobia Settlement Bars Terror-linked Muslim Group CAIR from Indoctrinating Students in San Diego School District
Idaho: Bill to ban female genital mutilation (FGM) clears state Senate
Pennsylvania: Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Filed By Islamic Group Against Lutheran Pastor
Federal judge strikes down request to expedite case of ISIS bride who wants to come to U.S.
#Creeping Sharia#fbi#finance#islam#Jihad#law#Legal#Life#litigation jihad#Media#Military#Muslim#News#Politics#Random#Religion#Sharia#terrorism#travel#monthly
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— A white National Guard commander called the standoff in Lafayette Square “the Alamo,” implying that the White House was under siege. Black members of the D.C. Guard objected to turning on their neighbors. Army leaders told pilots to “flood the box with everything we have” as two helicopters buzzed protesters in the streets.
The National Guard is now engaged in an investigation of the havoc a week ago Monday in downtown Washington, similar to after-the-fact examinations more common to battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. There will be questions, interviews and competing narratives.
But on one point everyone is agreed: The first days of June, a calamitous period for the Trump presidency, have been a debacle for the National Guard.
There has been a torrent of criticism from Congress, senior retired military officers and Guard members themselves since more than 5,000 Guard troops — from the District of Columbia and a dozen states — were rushed to the streets of the capital to help in the crackdown on mostly peaceful protesters and occasional looters after the killing of George Floyd in police custody. The D.C. Guard has halted recruiting efforts, and at least four National Guard troops have tested positive for the coronavirus.
D.C. Guard members, typically deployed to help after hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, say they feel demoralized and exhausted. More than 60% are people of color, and one soldier said he and some fellow troops were so ashamed in taking part against the protests that they have kept it from family members.
“Typically, as the D.C. National Guard, we are viewed as the heroes,” said another soldier, 1st Lt. Malik Jenkins-Bey, 42, who was the acting commander of the 273rd Military Police Company during the first days of the protests. But last week was different, he said.
“It’s a very tough conversation to have when a soldier turns to me and they’re saying, ‘Hey sir, you know my cousin was up there yelling at me, that was my neighbor, my best friend from high school,’ ” said Jenkins-Bey, who is African American.
Interviews with two dozen military officials as well as texts, internet chats, audio recordings, emails and documents obtained by The New York Times also show that:
— Senior Army leaders — in an effort to prevent what they feared would be a calamitous outcome if President Donald Trump ordered combat troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, holding just outside city limits, to the streets — leaned heavily on the Guard to carry out aggressive tactics to prove it could do the job without active-duty forces.
— Guard leaders issued a flurry of ad hoc orders that put thousands of Guard soldiers in face-to-face conflict with fellow Americans.
— Some of the Guard soldiers were just out of basic training, and others had no experience in controlling disturbances in the streets. Guard soldiers were allowed to drive heavy vehicles on the streets without the usual licensing.
In the next days, the Army is expected to release the results of a preliminary investigation into why the helicopters — a Black Hawk and, in particular, a Lakota with the Red Cross emblem designating it a medical helicopter — came to be used to terrorize protesters in Washington.
Ryan McCarthy, the Army secretary, acknowledged that he gave the order for the helicopters to respond, but by the time that order reached the pilots, officials said, it was interpreted as high profile and urgent to disrupt the protests. Officials expect the pilots who flew the helicopters will receive some type of punishment.
And when National Guard officials requested written guidance allowing troops without military licenses to drive armored vehicles around Washington, the officer in charge of the task force, Brig Gen. Robert K. Ryan, said it was a verbal order from the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. James C. McConville. Written confirmation never came, and a Defense Department official with direct knowledge of the situation said McConville never gave such an order.
The D.C. National Guard did not respond to a request for comment.
Around 9:15 a.m. Monday, June 1, more than an hour into Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s weekly videoconference staff meeting with officials at the Pentagon, an aide slipped a note to the secretary. “I’ve got to go,” Esper said, ending the call and summoning top aides for a smaller meeting on security in the capital and in Minnesota.
The night before, some demonstrators had hurled projectiles at the police and other law enforcement authorities. The night before that, six National Guard troops had been injured — five hit in the legs with bricks and one hit in the head. Thinly sourced intelligence reports, with no direct corroboration and highlighted in a brief early last week, suggested that fringe groups might try to use car bombs to attack government and law enforcement positions.
Trump himself was enraged by news reports that he had been moved on Friday night, May 29, to a White House bunker because of the protests outside his gates. The president was alarmed and unsettled by the violence, and by Monday, he was threatening to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would allow him to order active-duty troops into cities across the United States. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, objected, saying it was a terrible idea to have combat troops trained to fight foreign adversaries at war with Americans.
A wild scramble ensued to use another option: Summon National Guard troops from other states to reinforce the 1,200 D.C. Guard troops already called up. Unlike other Guard units, the D.C. Guard reports not to a state governor but to the Army secretary, who in turn reports to the defense secretary and the president.
From the Pentagon and a National Guard operations center on Monday in nearby Northern Virginia, officials held a hastily arranged conference call with all of the commanders of state National Guard forces.
The appeal was blunt and urgent: How many troops can you send and when can you send them? Pentagon officials said they preferred troops with previous training in civil disturbances, but they knew they did not have time to be picky.
Some states with Republican governors quickly jumped in — Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah. West Virginia’s National Guard sent a reconnaissance plane, typically used for border security and to spot drug smugglers.
Along with the troops, National Guard units from other states brought weapons and ammunition. Tens of thousands of rifle and pistol rounds were stored in the D.C. Armory and partitioned in pallets, labeled by their state of origin, to be used on U.S. citizens in case of emergency.
Other states, like California, were dealing with demonstrations of their own and were reluctant to part with any forces. Some Guard commanders, recalling the lessons of the Vietnam War and the Guard shootings that killed four Kent State students in 1970, were deeply concerned about committing their troops to a vaguely defined urban mission that could put their forces in direct contact with U.S. citizens protesting racial injustice.
But Milley and McCarthy warned the Guard throughout the day that if it could not control the protests, Trump would most likely call in the 82nd Airborne. The pressure was particularly intense on the D.C. Guard, which had the only sizable military force on the streets.
Both McCarthy and McConville pressed Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, to increase his forces’ presence in the city, according to a senior Defense Department official.
By 5 p.m. June 1, Jenkins-Bey’s D.C. Guard troops had positioned themselves in a line behind the D.C. police just outside Lafayette Square. The lieutenant had often reminded them that “this isn’t a deployment against the enemy.”
A few hours earlier, Esper had told the nation’s governors in a conference from the White House call with Trump that troops controlling the protesters needed to dominate the “battle space.” Jenkins-Bey made clear to his troops in the following days where he stood: “We’re not here to dominate any battle spaces or anything like that, our job is simply to stand the line between the police and the citizens so that they can say what they need to say.”
McCarthy, who served in the Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment during the war in Afghanistan, pored over maps and strategized with Guard and federal officials at a command post set up at the FBI’s Washington field office in the city’s Chinatown district.
This micromanagement was a last-ditch attempt to keep active-duty troops outside the city.
Military officials scrambled to arrange transport planes to pick Guard soldiers up and fly them to Washington. Most would not start arriving until Tuesday morning, but officials expressed confidence they had enough on hand and en route for Esper and Milley to tell the president that help was on the way.
But the 82nd Airborne units, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, along with a military police unit from Fort Drum, New York, were still on
#82nd Airborne#FBI feild office#micro management last ditch attempt to keep activeduty troops outside of city#Jenkin bays DC troops#Mark Esper#Maj General williamwalker#Commander of DC Guard#invoke 1807 Insurrection Act#Gen Mark A Milley#miltary police unit from Fort DrumNew York
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The Marine Corps’ nude photo-sharing scandal is even worse than first realized
The scandal that prompted an investigation into hundreds of Marines who allegedly shared naked photographs of their colleagues in a private Facebook group is much larger than has been previously reported, Business Insider has learned.
The practice of sharing such photos goes beyond the Marine Corps and beyond one Facebook group. Hundreds of nude photos of female service members from every military branch have been posted to an image-sharing message board that dates back to at least May 2016. A source informed Business Insider of the site’s existence on Tuesday.
The site, called AnonIB, has a dedicated board for military personnel that features dozens of threaded conversations of men, many of whom ask for “wins” — naked photographs — of specific female service members, often identifying the women by name or by where they are currently stationed.
The revelation comes on the heels of an explosive story published earlier this week by journalist Thomas Brennan. He reported on a Facebook group called “Marines United,” which was home to approximately 30,000 members that were sharing nude photos of colleagues, along with personal information and even encouragement of sexual assault.
The report led the Marine Corps to open an investigation, spurred widespread outrage in the media and in Congress, and prompted sharp condemnation from the Corps’ top leaders. According to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, investigators in that case are considering felony charges that could carry a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison.
An official familiar with the matter told Business Insider the Marine Commandant, Gen. Robert Neller, would be briefing members of the House Armed Services Committee on the scandal some time next week.
“We’re examining some of our policies to see if we can make them punitive in nature,” the official said, adding that the Corps was taking the issue very seriously.
Facebook group exodus leads to message board’s popularity
Brennan’s story also led to an apparent exodus of members from the private Facebook group, though some appeared to have found the publicly viewable message board soon after — with the express intent of finding the cache of nude images Marines in the Facebook group were sharing.
“Come on Marines share the wealth here before that site is nuked and all is lost,” wrote one anonymous user who posted on March 6, just two days after Brennan’s story was published. Follow-up replies offered a link to a Dropbox folder named “Girls of MU” with thousands of photographs inside.
Dropbox did not respond to a request for comment.
Members on the board often posted photos — seemingly stolen from female service members’ Instagram accounts — before asking others if they had nude pictures of a female service member.
For example, after posting the first name and photograph of a female soldier in uniform on January 21, one board member asked: “Army chick went to [redacted], ig is [redacted].” Another user, apparently frustrated no pictures had yet been found, posted a few days later: “BUMP. Let’s see them t——.”
On another thread, a member posted a photograph on May 30, 2016, of a female service member with her breasts exposed, asking, “She is in the navy down in san diego, anyone have any more wins?”
One user followed up on June 13, offering another nude photo of the purported female sailor.
“Keep them coming! She’s got them floating around someone [sic] and I’ve wanted to see this for a while,” another user wrote in response.
Some requested nude photographs by unit or location.
One user in September 2016 asked for photos of women in the Massachusetts National Guard, while another requested some from the Guard in Michigan. Other requests included nude pictures of any women stationed at Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, or Naval Medical Center in San Diego, along with many more US military installations around the world.
In statements to Business Insider, military branches universally denounced the message board and promised discipline for any service members who engaged in activities of misconduct.
“This alleged behavior is inconsistent with our values,” Lt. Col. Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Department of Defense, told Business Insider.
Capt. Ryan Alvis, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps, told Business Insider the service expects that the discovery of the Marines United page will motivate others to come forward to report other pages like it.
“Marines will attack this problem head-on and continue to get better,” Alvis said.
Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson, a spokesperson for the Army, told Business Insider: “The Army is a values-based organization where everyone is expected to be treated with dignity and respect. As members of the Army team, individuals’ interaction offline and online reflect on the Army and its values. Soldiers or civilian employees who participate in or condone misconduct, whether offline or online, may be subject to criminal, disciplinary, and/or administrative action.”
Air Force spokesperson Zachary Anderson told Business Insider: “We expect our Airmen to adhere to these values at all times and to treat their fellow service members with the highest degree of dignity and respect. Any conduct or participation in activities, whether online or offline, that does not adhere to these principles will not be tolerated. Airmen or civilian employees who engage in activities of misconduct that demean or disrespect fellow service members will be appropriately disciplined.”
The Navy did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Hope we can find more on this gem’
The image board hosts disturbing conversations from what appears, in many cases, to be between active-duty personnel.
“Any wins of [redacted]?” read one request, which shared further details about a female Marine’s whereabouts, indicating the anonymous user likely worked with her in the past.
Another thread posted in November 2016, which saw dozens of follow-up comments as users acted as cyber-sleuths to track down the victim, started with a single photograph of a female Marine, fully clothed, taken from her Instagram account.
“Any wins?” that user asked, telling others the Marine’s first name and where she had been stationed.
One user hinted at her last name as others scoured her Instagram account, posting more photos that they had found. One photo of the victim and her friend prompted one user to ask for nude photos of the friend, as well: “Any of the dark haired girl in the green shirt and jeans next to her?”
The thread carried on for months.
“Amazing thread,” one user wrote. “Hope we can find more on this gem.”
In December, a nude photo was finally posted. “dudeee more,” one user wrote in response. Many others responded by “bumping” the thread to the top, so that others on the board would see it and potentially post more photos. Indeed, more photos soon appeared from the victim’s Instagram account, which was apparently made private or shut down numerous times.
On the board, users complained that her Instagram account kept disappearing, apparently due to the victim trying to thwart her harassers. But others quickly found her new accounts and told others, with the new Instagram account names being shared throughout the month of February.
“Oh god please someone have that p—-,” one user wrote.
The site that hosts the message board seems to have little moderation and few rules, though it does tell users: “Don’t be evil.” Its posting rules instruct members to not post personal details such as addresses, telephone numbers, links to social networks, or last names.
Still, large numbers of users on the board do not appear to follow those rules.
In one popular thread started on January 9, an anonymous user posted non-nude pictures of a female airman, teasing others with the caption: “Anyone know her or have anything else on her? I’ve got a lot more if there is interest. Would love for her friends and family to see these.”
The user, who suggested he was a jilted ex-boyfriend, judging by the accompanying captions, posted many more photos in the following hours and days.
“She knows how to end it all. If she does get in contact with me I won’t post anymore. So get it while it’s hot!” he wrote.
Later in the thread, the man even referred to the airman by name and told her to check her Instagram messages.
“Wow, she blocked me on Instagram!” he later wrote. “Stupid c— must want me to post her s— up. I gave her a choice, it didn’t have to be this way. I’m not a bad guy, she had a choice. Oh well, no point in holding back now. I want you all to share this everywhere you can, once I start seeing her more places I’ll post her video.”
Aside from those serving on active-duty, even some who identified themselves as cadets at some military service academies started their own threads to try to find nude photos of their female classmates.
In a thread dedicated to the US Military Academy at West Point, some purported cadets shared photos and class graduation years of their female classmates.
“What about the basketball locker room pics, I know someone has those,” one user asked, apparently in reference to photos taken surreptitiously in the women’s locker room. “I always wondered whether those made it out of the academy computer system,” another user responded.
In 2012, an Army sergeant who helped to train and mentor cadets was discovered to have secretly filmed more than a dozen women in the bathroom and shower areas at West Point. The soldier pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced in 2014 to 33 months in prison.
A spokesperson for West Point did not respond to a request for comment.
“Bumping all 3 service academies’ threads to see who can post the best wins in the next 7 days. Winning school gets the [commander’s cup],” one user wrote. “Go Army, Beat Everyone.”
‘This has to be treated harshly’
The existence of a site dedicated solely to sharing nude photographs of female service members is another black mark for the Pentagon, which has been criticized in the past for failing to deal with rampant sexual harassment and abuse within the ranks.
A 2014 Rand Corporation study found that more than 20,000 service members had been sexually assaulted in the previous year. Nearly six times that number reported being sexually harassed. In some cases even, the military has pushed out victims of sexual assault who have reported it, instead of the perpetrators.
“I’m kind of surprised. I’m still naive I think, on some level,” said Kate Hendricks Thomas, a former Marine Corps officer who is now an assistant professor at Charleston Southern University. “I am really disappointed to hear that the reach is broader than 30,000 and a couple of now-defunct websites.”
Thomas criticized past responses to the problem, in which some have indicated the issue is too difficult for the military to wrap its arms around.
“This renders us less mission-effective. It’s got to be a priority,” she said.
“These websites are not boys being boys,” she added. “This is a symptom of rape culture.”
The message board also presents a challenge for military leaders, who may face an uphill battle in trying to find, and potentially prosecute, active-duty service members who share photos on the site. Unlike the Marines United Facebook group, where many users posted under their real names, the newly-revealed message board’s user base is mostly anonymous, and the site itself is registered in the Bahamas, outside the jurisdiction of US law enforcement.
Brad Moss, a lawyer who specializes in national security issues, told Business Insider the military may have a hard time convincing the internet service provider to shut down the website. Instead, he explained, the victims themselves may have more legal standing when contacting the ISP in order to get photos removed.
Still, Moss believes the military could squash the behavior if it adopted a “zero-tolerance” posture.
“I think that absolutely 100% should be the policy. If they catch the main perpetrators who are sharing these photos around and essentially engaging in revenge porn,” Moss said. “They should have a zero-tolerance policy, and boot them from the military with a dishonorable discharge.”
“If they do anything less, it’s only going to incentivize this behavior in the future,” he added. “This has to be treated harshly.”
SEE ALSO: Marine commandant to troops sharing nude photos: ‘Do you really want to be a Marine?’
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