Vigilance Elite: Blackwater 'Massacre' Was A Massacre of Justice

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After thirteen years of political persecution and wrongful imprisonment, four U.S. veterans reunited last Christmas with their loyal families upon receiving Presidential pardons that some described as "an affront to justice."

In their first joint interview on The Shawn Ryan Show, the four men of Blackwater USA's Raven 23 Tactical Support Team sit down with Shawn Ryan to discuss the complete system failure of the U.S. government, a corrupt court system, and incompetent journalists that demonized them as war criminals and convicted them before standing trial, despite their innocence.

In an extensive interview, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough discuss their ordeal as well as their experience in battle, their time in prison, their faith, and reuniting with their families.

The men also talk about Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt, the podcast that sparked renewed interest in their case by proving dozens of instances of judicial misconduct, hidden evidence, and a politically motivated show trial. 

Investigative journalist Gina Keating, the co-writer and producer of that podcast, also joins Shawn to talk about the years of research and production that went into proving the men's innocence.

Beginning his show by referring to the shootout as "the most controversial gun fight in the Iraq war, and perhaps in American history," Ryan provides the four men the opportunity they never got in court or from the mainstream media - the opportunity to tell their side of the story. 

It quickly becomes obvious why the U.S. government wanted these men kept silent. After years of faithful service in both the military and as contractors with Blackwater, the men were accused of war crimes that they did not commit. The U.S. government's chief investigator was an Iraqi National Police colonel with suspected ties to two different terrorist organizations. Keating provides documents and film from her years-long investigation with co-writer and co-producer Mike Flaherty that they used in their podcast.

Listening to Keating and the men tell the story and its origins in then-Vice President Joe Biden's determination to overturn the dismissal of their case provides an eerie foreshadowing of current events. The interview was released just days after the United States' botched exit from Afghanistan, leaving thousands of Afghan allies deserted and abandoned by the Biden administration. All were disposable heroes who had outlived their usefulness in the eyes of President Biden.

After a 2014 trial rife with prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, a Washington DC jury convicted Heard, Liberty, Slatten and Slough of killing and wounding Iraqi civilians amidst a gun battle in Baghdad at the height of violence in the war in Iraq. Heard, Liberty and Slough were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Slatten was tried twice more, and sentenced to life in prison on a single murder charge in 2018. After a massive community effort to bring attention to the case, President Donald Trump pardoned the men on Dec. 22, 2020.

Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, scored the first-ever group interview with the four former contractors. The episode also features a surprise appearance by U.S. Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher, the former Navy SEAL who was unjustly charged with war crimes stemming from his eighth and final combat deployment.

After eight months of pre-trial confinement and an intense legal battle, Gallagher was found not guilty. Gallagher and his wife, Andrea formed The Pipe Hitter Foundation to support U.S. service members who find themselves in the same legal crosshairs simply for doing their jobs.

Gallagher revealed that The Pipe Hitter Foundation board of directors had authorized an immediate $12,500 in emergency relief grants for the four men and has started a fundraiser to retire Raven 23's outstanding legal bills and get them back on their feet. To make a donation, visit the Pipe Hitter Foundation Homepage @ Pipehitterfoundation.org.

Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt, a production of ThinkAgain Studios, can be found on all podcast platforms. Two final episodes were released on Thursday.

About Vigilance Elite

Vigilance Elite was founded in 2015 by former Navy SEAL and CIA Contractor Shawn Ryan. The Shawn Ryan Show, a Vigilance Elite production, focuses on delivering impactful interviews with impactful guests. For additional information visit vigilanceelite.com.

Shawn Ryan: [email protected], 629-333-8117

Dena Cruden, executive director, Pipe Hitter Foundation: 858-925-3174

SOURCE Vigilance Elite

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