Parents Of Imprisoned Marine: ‘His Crime Was Speaking Truth To Power, And Power Couldn’t Handle It’

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Stu and Cathy Scheller are the parents of Lieutenant Colonel Stu Scheller; they join us tonight. Thank you so much for coming on. This is one of the worst stories I’ve ever seen in 30 years of covering this stuff. And so our hearts go out to your family. Tell us first how your son’s doing.

STU SCHELLER, FATHER: We don’t know. He is in prison tonight, Tucker. He’s been in prison since Monday. We talked to him for two minutes on Monday, and he gave us two messages. He said, call my attorney. And we did. And he said, tell everyone. And so we appreciate you having us on. We appreciate you allowing us to reach out to your listeners. Because this story is outrageous, and it needs to be told.

CARLSON: I can’t remember being as offended by anything as I am by this. It’s just, it’s so completely wrong. Have members of Congress reached out to you? Congress, as you know, approves promotions in United States military, they can shut that down tomorrow until your son is released from prison. Have you heard from any members of Congress?

STU SCHELLER: Yes, I’ve heard from [the] Senator from Utah. I’ve heard from my local senator, I’ve heard our local representative Brad Wenstrup has been unbelievable, and very supportive. We have heard from a number of them. But at the same time, we’ve heard more probably in the last 24 hours, since we have asked Americans to find their voice and stand up and call their congressman. So I believe this is why we heard it on the Senate floor two days ago, and this is why we heard it on the House floor today. Lieutenant Colonel Scheller’s name is being discussed because Americans are demanding accountability. And we appreciate that, America.

CATHY SCHELLER: We do, we really appreciate it. And what you need to know also is that they announced to his lawyers this morning with less than 24 hours notice that he will be in pre-trial tomorrow. And they dumped a 640 page document on them with 24 hours. They’re trying to bury our son.

CARLSON: Yeah, this is all for making a Facebook video that was entirely truthful. I see the pictures on the screen, which are heartbreaking, of your daughter-in-law and your grandchildren, little kids. How are they doing?

CATHY SCHELLER: Little kids. Well, mom is doing what she’s supposed to be doing. She’s protecting those kids and keeping them away from all of this. And that’s her job. And our job is to come out here and tell the American people.

CARLSON: Do they know their dad’s in jail?

STU SCHELLER: The children are small. The children right now are small, and we’re trying to protect them.

CARLSON: Good. I hope you’re able to. Do you have any idea why he’s being held in the brig? Did anyone explain to you what the charges are going to be?

CATHY SCHELLER: No one has told us; I don’t believe he’s been charged yet. No one has told us what the charges are. Before I go too much further down this, I do want to say thank you to the American people. And I want to ask them to, if possible, to pray, to contact your congressman, to donate at pipe hitters foundation … And there is a tab for who they represent. And you can donate for Lieutenant Stuart Scheller, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller. I’m just used to calling him Stu, of course. But there is a tab there. So many people are saying what can we do? And we just can’t get the message out. It would not have been on the Senate floor today if Americans had not spoken up.

STU SCHELLER: Tucker, you asked what did you do? Probably a week or two ago, or maybe it was a week ago, they put him under a gag order. They took away his right to post, to talk on social media, to email, to text. He shared it with America. And he knew this weekend, when he posted again and he broke his silence, that they were probably going to arrest him on Monday. So, he is a very intelligent man. He understands what’s going to happen to him. We have been, so he broke chain of command. And I said last night on a program, Tucker, his crime was speaking truth to power, and power couldn’t handle it. I also said that while he broke chain of command, Austin, Milley, McKenzie, they broke the chain of trust and confidence in the American people. We’re mad, we’re mad as hell. And I’m asking the American people to find your voice. Stand up, demand accountability of your Congresspeople. Ask for Lieutenant Scheller to be freed. In my opinion, of course, I’m dad, so it’s probably not fair, but I think he should receive his pension after 17 years of fighting for this country. I think he and his family should have their health benefits and VA benefits for the rest of their lives for the sacrifices he’s made.

CATHY SCHELLER: And he needs to be out of solitary confinement in prison, where he is not allowed to call anyone or to have visitors.

CARLSON: This whole thing is so crazy. It’s hard to believe. … I’m sorry about your suffering. And we’re going to be covering this wherever it leads.