(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was revealed that the Washington Post will release a hit piece on a man who helped the Gold Star families of the soldiers who died during the Afghanistan withdrawal coordinate the Arlington cemetery visit with Donald Trump last month.
The Post Millennial reviewed the sources close to the families and correspondence, which revealed that the propaganda outlet plans to release a hit piece meant to portray Marlon Bateman, the event coordinator, as an evil puppeteer who orchestrated the Arlington Cemetery visit to make it a “publicity stunt.”
The news source spoke to Gold Star family members Christy Shamblin, Darin Hoover, Cheryl Juels, Alicia Lopez, Steven Nikoui, Mark Schmitz and Jim McCollum. They said Bateman didn’t tell them they could do a “publicity stunt” to raise more money. Several of them disputed the claims that the family members became too political.
One Gold Star mother made the accusations against Bateman. The allegations were related to a 2023 Zoom call between the family members of the 13 deceased soldiers who lost their lives at Abbey Gate.
However, multiple family members who were in attendance on the call stated that the mother who accused Bateman became estranged from the group of Gold Star family members because of her divisive behavior.
The news source also obtained the questions for the story from Post reporters Dan Lamothe and Isaac Arnsworth.
“[In the 2023 Zoom call,] Marlon told the families that staging a publicity stunt could be helpful to the families in bringing attention back to the Abbey Gate disaster and raising money that you all could use as you traveled to hearings and continued your advocacy,” one reporter with the Post said that Shana Chappell, a previous partner of Gold Star father Steve Nikoui and mother of deceased Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, said.
However, family members, including Lopez, the mother of deceased Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, defended Bateman.
“I don’t usually get involved, but when you’re trying to criticize someone [who’s] helping my family to get answers on what happened to my son, that’s kind of where I find the need to have to step up,” she said.
