Exclusive: US Army charges Private Travis King with desertion over dash into North Korea

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

October 19, 2023 10:02 PM EDT


Oct 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has charged Private Travis King with crimes ranging from desertion for running into North Korea in July to assault against fellow soldiers and solicitation of child pornography, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

The Army's case against King, which has not been previously reported, includes eight distinct charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, setting up a substantial legal battle for the 23-year-old soldier after his release from North Korean custody in September. The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement provided by a family spokesperson, King's mother, Claudine Gates, expressed her unconditional love and asked that her son "be afforded the presumption of innocence."

"The man I raised, the man I dropped off at boot camp, the man who spent the holidays with me before deploying did not drink," Gates said. "A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed. The Army promised to investigate what happened at Camp Humphries, and I await the results."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-army-charges-private-travis-king-with-desertion-over-dash-into-north-korea-2023-10-20/

[bobby202]

1. mentally !

As a soldier that spent 3 years in the jungles in V.N. , there is some people that can't adapt to military conditions. Nothing to be ashamed of ! As a grunt & ground pounder , It's traumatic when you go from civilian life to regimented life . He should have been screened for that ! the military usually doses a good job of that ! And by all means I'm not makeing excuses for what he did !!! Boil's he crack'd ! Section 8 , dishonorable discharge , lose of benefits should apply ! but desertion, a little extreme !

[keithbvadu2]

2. He thought that literally running into NK would fix his problems.

NK thought that he was not worth keeping and threw him back.

[prodigitalson]

4. well, I think running into NK would definitely get your mind off your mundane everyday problems

talk about living in the moment

[ArizonaLib]

3. What is someone like that doing in the military in the first place?

Never mind near the DMZ? Are all the charges valid or trumped up? If they are valid, isn't there a security check process in place for those assigned in those areas?

[republianmushroom]

5. Good

I like it.

[maxsolomon]

6. This really isn't that big of a story.

Dude has issues, likely never should have been in the military, panicked and ran.