3rd SEAL to be arraigned in alleged assault - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

3rd SEAL to be arraigned in alleged assault

NORFOLK, Va. — The third SEAL accused in the assault of an alleged al-Qaida terrorist will be arraigned Tuesday in a military court on the Norfolk Naval Base.

Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Jonathan Elliot Keefe is expected to plead not guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and making a false official statement. His court-martial is expected to be scheduled in late January.

The two other SEALs, SO1 (SEAL) Julio Antonio Huertas and SO2 (SEAL) Matthew Vernon McCabe, have already entered their pleas — Huertas during his Dec. 7 arraignment, and McCabe through his lawyer, Neil Puckett last week after deferring entering a plea at the arraignment.

McCabe, also accused of making a false statement and dereliction of duty, is the only one of the three accused of assaulting Ahmed Hashim Abed, who the U.S. thinks masterminded the 2004 ambush in Fallujah, Iraq, in which four Blackwater security contractors were hanged and burned. His court-martial is scheduled to begin Jan. 19 on Norfolk Naval Base.

In addition to dereliction of duty and making false official statement charges, Huertas is charged with impeding an official investigation. His court-martial will begin Jan. 11 on Norfolk Naval Base.