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Montel Williams makes heartfelt plea to free veteran imprisoned in Iran

May 06, 2015
Wilson

Writer

Amir Hekmati, a former Marine, has been imprisoned in Iran for over three and a half years, longer than any American citizen held captive by the country. In 2011, he was taken prisoner while visiting his sick grandmother. The Iranian government charged him with "espionage, waging war against God, and corrupting the earth" and sentenced him to die. While the verdict was overturned, he was sentenced during a new secret trial to ten years in prison. Amir and his lawyers didn't know until after the trial took place. Now, veterans like Montel Williams are trying to raise awareness for Amir's plight and see an opportunity for U.S. leaders to take action as the Obama administration looks to improve relations with Iran. Montel joined Glenn on TV to discuss this story.

Glenn: I want to talk to you now about really making a difference and reaching out to one another and helping each other and recognizing who’s making a difference. I’m going to introduce you to a man in a second that you know but is truly making a difference, but I want to tell you a story about a US Marine that was arrested in August 2011. He was arrested on allegations of spying for the CIA while he was visiting relatives in Iran. Over the past four years, he has been in an Iranian prison. He has been drugged. He has been whipped. He was told that his mother had died in a car accident, which is not true, and there’s one guy who has been fighting for him and fighting to bring him home. He joins me now. It’s Montel Williams. Hello, Montel.

Montel: Glenn, thank you so much for doing this yet again because one of the things you didn’t just say to your audience is remember, you and I about three weeks before we were able to get Sgt. Tahmooressi out of Mexico, did this same thing, had a conversation with your viewers to say please, we’ve got to make a difference. So, thank you again for having me on tonight.

Glenn: I have an awful lot of respect for you, Montel. The world is really going to hell, and it’s melting down, and history is beginning to repeat itself. You’re one of the few guys that has put differences aside, and you’re looking at bigger principles, and you’re trying to do what Americans have always done, and that is roll up your sleeves and just do the right thing. So, tell me the story about Hekmati.

Montel: You know, this is really crazy. You summarized it well, but let me just see if I can make sure your viewers understand. This is a young man who grew up in Arizona, went to high school in this country, enlisted in the Marine Corps, went and fought with our troops in Iraq and fought with honor, was honorably discharged. Every soldier near him will tell you the bravery he exemplified and who he is as a person.

Now, he went to Iran to visit his grandmother who at the time was extremely ill. He went through the entire process here in the United States. Now, let’s just say this, his parents are of Iranian descent. He was born in the United States. He is an American citizen. He has done everything he can do for our country and decided to serve in the military for the United States to show his support for this country.

So, he had to go to another embassy to get a visa to go to Iran. While he did so, he told them everything about his service, good, trusting, honest Marine that he is. He told them, I was in the Marine Corps. He told them I served in Iraq. They said yeah, come on over, yes, come see your grandmother. Yeah, come on over, it’s fine. Gets there, less than three days later, they arrest him, and they arrest him for spying for the United States.

Now, first off, he’s not an Iranian citizen. They arrest him for being a Marine. They sentenced him to death, Glenn. They held him in a deathwatch for about three or four months, and then in absentia go back into court, overturn a death sentence, and sentence him to ten years in prison for cooperating with a foreign government.

Now, let’s explain this completely. He has been in prison now almost four years. This is close to 1241, 1242 days now that he has been in prison. He has been tortured. Not just drugged, they kept him for about nine months in a three-by-three cell where he couldn’t even move. They have beaten him—three and a half years.

They addicted him to drugs, lithium, and then they take him on and off the addiction to torture him more. About three weeks ago, when the president held the press dinner in DC, he named and mentioned by name one of the other hostages, one that’s being held over, their prisoner being held, and he’s the Washington Post reporter. He mentioned his name. The president has also gone to see another prisoner there, his family, not the prisoner, the family of the minister that’s there. He’s seen him.

No one at this point had reached out to the Marine’s family, Amir Hekmati’s family, from our administration, though we had some underlying people but nobody up above. So, two weeks ago when the president said the other name, they went in and tried to emotionally torture Amir a little bit more, saying look, your country doesn’t care about you. They’re telling everybody else’s name and not yours.

Now, fortunately, last week, I, Amir’s sister, Sarah, and her brother-in-law, went down to DC, and we were able to meet—let me tell you, Glenn, this was unbelievable, because when you hear about what’s going on in Washington, we can’t get politicians to even talk to each other, we met from everybody with everybody from Trey Gowdy to Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy to Raul Labrador. We went in and literally stood in the Rayburn Room and spoke to every one of them coming in and out.

The Speaker, Speaker Boehner, even retweeted Congressman Kildee, who is the Congressman who is Amir’s Congressman, retweeted his message. So, what’s been going on? Since then, this past weekend, Vice President Biden was in it was Detroit or near where the Hekmatis are from. He was there in town. He went and spent a couple hours with the family and is finally now starting to talk to them. So, our efforts to raise the bar and raise the noise is starting to do something. Now, we need to raise the bar even more, and that’s get Iran to number one, stop even the question of including this Marine and the other hostages in any conversation about any deal.

And because of that, what’s happened is Congressman Kildee and a group of congressmen bipartisan now have put forth House Resolution 233. I’ve got to beg your viewers today to call their congressmen, call their senator, tell them we need to come behind this House bill. We need to let Iran know today that one, this man wore our uniform. There’s no law that he broke by doing so, by being an American citizen. Two, all of us listening right, now believe me, our freedom rides on the back of Marines like Amir to hold back Iran if they attempt to send any weapons anywhere within that region that could be used against us.

We have soldiers, sailors, airmen, Air Force men, Coast Guard men, Marines, that are out there waiting right now to put their lives on the line for us, and their payback will be you wear our uniform, if somebody else arrests you and throws you in jail, we’re not going to do anything to come and get you. We’re going to leave you there to rot. Remember, less than 0.6% of this nation’s population has skin in this game when it comes to a uniform on their back dodging bullets to protect this democracy.

We keep turning our backs on those who have done so, wait and see what happens when the next volley of fire starts to come. So, I’ve got to demand, I’m asking, begging, please, Glenn, thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to say this. If all of your viewers will go up right now #FreeAmirNow, and then you can also #HouseResolution233, and we could raise the ire here and make people understand that the democracy that we are trying to shove down everybody else’s throat needs to have people in uniforms to defend.

Glenn: Okay, I want to see if we can get this trending tonight, and then I’d like to see if I can get you on the radio tomorrow, and we’ll unleash the radio audience as well.

Montel: I’m on. You got me.

Glenn: What this resolution says is basically that Iran is holding three United States citizens. They’ve been held captive for multiple years. They’ve been disappeared, and Rouhani says that the government wishes to engage in construction interaction in the world. Therefore, be it resolved that it is the sense of House representatives that Iran should release all detained United States citizens immediately and provide any information it possesses against United States citizens that have been disappeared within its borders. This is really easy for everybody to get on board with, really easy.

Montel: How can we make it any harder?

Glenn: I know. I want to correct one thing that you said, and it’s possibly the saddest part of your rant. That is you said if we keep deserting them, watch what happens when the next volley comes. I’d like to tell you, and I know you know this to be true, that’s what should happen, but what the people who serve our nation will do is go out anyway and protect us anyway. We are not worthy of their protection.

Montel: You’re right, but I’m talking about the ones that are going to sign up. I should say this, Glenn, you know, recently a study just came back that stated unequivocally our service members are right now at the lowest level of motivation, and they have the lowest opinion of their future in the military. And we let them know every day that I’m going to turn my back on you? Come on.

Glenn: Montel, I have to tell you, I really, truly believe that when history is written about this time period, you will at least be a footnote on what you have done for the military. You are passionate about it, and you are a guy who’s making a difference. This is not your job. And I enjoy having you on because you’re a great example to all of us on what we should be doing.

Montel: Thank you so much, sir.

Glenn: Thank you. We’ll talk to you tomorrow on the radio. Go ahead.

Montel: I’ll catch you on the radio tomorrow, and thank you again, Glenn. Well, last thing, the family needs you to know this is that Amir’s father, two years ago, two and a half years ago, got diagnosed with a brain tumor. The man doesn’t have a lot of time left. This family is paying hospital bills, legal bills. They need some help also, and if I could just please ask and say this, if you want to help the family financially, you can go to giveforward.com/freeAmir. Please, the family needs your help. A couple months ago, you guys were able to raise a lot of money for some other issues. If you could just help them out right now.

You know, we hope we get Amir home in time to see his father before he passes. You know, the thank you to me, let me say this, it’s my honor and my responsibility to the soldiers who follow me and those before me to do this every day, period.

Glenn: I respect the man who believes something so deeply that he weeps when he talks about it. Montel, God bless you. We’ll talk to you tomorrow on the radio.

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.