Over the last several months, Glenn and Montel Williams have spoken at length about the treatment of veterans in this country. A 22-year veteran himself, Williams has openly criticized the Obama Administration and the failure of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to adequately care for servicemen and women. Williams is back in the news today for a letter he sent to Mexican leaders last month regarding the imprisonment of Marine Corps Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.
Tahmooressi has been locked up in a Mexican prison for 157 days. He was arrested for weapons possession on March 31. Tahmorressi has maintained he took a wrong turn and crossed the southern border by mistake.
The 25-year-old decorated war veteran and Florida native was in the process of relocating to San Diego for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. He had been in San Diego for 10 days when he ended up at the San Ysidro checkpoint. Tahmooressi faces a sentence of six to 21 years in a Mexican prison for carrying his registered AR-15 rifle, .45-caliber pistol, and 12-gauge pump shotgun in his car across the border.
Williams sent the letter to Mexico’s president, attorney general and ambassador to the U.S. on August 20. Though he initially intended to keep it private, Williams said he chose to release it on Thursday to coincide with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s (R) trip to Mexico.
“I understand New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is in Mexico for meetings with President Nieto, and that is why I am releasing this letter tonight,” Williams said in a statement. “I implore him to press for Andrew to be released on humanitarian grounds so that he may return to the United States to seek treatment.”
The contents of the letter primarily focus on Tahmooressi’s PTSD diagnosis and the lack of care he is receiving while in prison.
“I cannot emphasize enough the gravity of this situation given Sergeant Tahmooressi’s PTSD,” Williams wrote. “He has no mental health care whatsoever since the outset of his incarceration and being held in complete isolation only serves to amplify those symptoms.”
Editor's Note: You can read the entire letter HERE.
As TheBlaze reports, Williams received a reply from the Minister for Press and Public Affairs informing him that his concerns would be “conveyed to the appropriate officials.” That letter also included several documents outlining Mexico’s case against the imprisoned Marine. Williams has since countered the 'facts' of the document in a follow-up letter.
“While I appreciate the Mexican Embassy’s ‘response’ it was non-responsive to the letter I sent. Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi suffers from severe PTSD – he has now been confined for more than 5 months,” Williams said in a statement. “The very nature of PTSD is that its severity often increases over time without treatment. The Mexican Government has provided no such treatment.”
On radio this morning, Glenn praised Williams decision to reach out directly to Mexican authorities. While the White House finally responded to a WhiteHouse.gov petition calling for Tahmooressi’s release by calling on Mexican authorities to handle the case “expeditiously,” they stopped short of demanding for his release.
“You know what, maybe that's what we should do get everybody in our audience to do. Forget about the White House,” Glenn said. “Why don't we write the president of Mexico ourselves, as an audience, and just deluge the president of Mexico with, ‘Please, we're helping your people. We're feeding your people. What are you doing? Please.’”
