Brandon Raub's Marine Veteran Brother Sets Record Straight on Facebook Arrest

(RICHMOND, VA) - My name is Jesse Cash, I have known Brandon for nearly a decade. We served together in Iraq, and Afghanistan. I am a college student, majoring in history (possibly changing to military intelligence). I have spoken with Brandon at least on a weekly basis for the last year, many times daily.

In fact I spoke with him the day before his detainment, and the day of the hospital “hearing” I was in the hospital with his family and lawyers. just a little pertinent background reference, both my parents are in the medical field and have a combined 30 years in mental health. Brandon Raub does not suffer from any mental illnesses.

He is not experiencing psychosis. I have extensive knowledge with PTSD; my father was a navy corpsman in Vietnam and has been diagnosed with PTSD. I grew up around my fathers Marines and know what the signs and symptoms are. I have been evaluated by 2 psychologists and medically cleared. (I wanted to have my sanity documented for situations such as these).

Brandon is not suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, in fact he has no symptoms of the disorder at all. He is easily the most clear minded individual I know. He has a strong moral compass and the heart of a boy. He is well read on the history of modern politics, and philosophy, I would say he has probably read 60 books this year.

He is logical, he is reasonable and some suggest this situation was specifically manipulated by him to make Americans aware of the level of surveillance we are currently under, to that regard I will not comment.

As to his nature, is he capable of violence? Let me tell you a story that sums up his character.

While in Afghanistan Brandon was involved in an operation in which two Afghan soldiers were catastrophically wounded (they had lost multiple limbs) but they were trapped in a IED (booby trap) laden compound, Brandon disregarded his personal safety and crawled into the compound to drag each of them out, the other Marines present refused to help him, because they were Afghans. Brandon saw them as Humans in distress.

After bringing the first out, he turned around and went back in a second time to retrieve the other. Once he drug them to safety he tended to their wounds and successfully saved their lives. Brandon is one of my personal heroes. He is easily the best man I know. Both he and I are decorated for combat valor, and are men of integrity. This man not only saved the lives of his friends, but also his enemies.

He is not capable of evil, for his heart belongs to good. He is a man of Jesus, and stands up for the weak.

His displeasure with the government is because of the evil, deceit, and corruption that is oppressing us and he is not afraid to take a stand to make it stop. "I stand against a great evil I will do it by myself if I must" -Brandon Raub

He has been singled out because of his heart, and his spirit, not his words. Millions say and have said worse. Rap songs speak of murder rape incest and sometimes worse, yet they are not arrested because they are in the public eye.

Brandon is not a Timothy McVeigh outsider from the woods. He is a war hero, with a host of friends and comrades at his back.

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gary August 24, 2012 7:12 pm (Pacific time)

From the day adam and eve sined, Satan has been in control of mans affairs on earth,until god had a chosen people. They failed to serve God properly.. still today the world is ruled by satan.read Mathew chap. four and how satan offered Jesus all the kigdoms of the world.In order to offer these kingdoms to Jesus he must of owned them. Do some reserch. An interesting point...

Anonymous August 23, 2012 3:48 pm (Pacific time)

Judge orders marine be released...keep up the pressure!!!!!
Judge orders release of US Marine detained for Facebook posts

Anonymous August 23, 2012 12:41 pm (Pacific time)

Va. judge orders release of detained veteran
LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press
Updated 11:51 a.m., Thursday, August 23, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A judge on Thursday ordered the release of a former Marine who was detained for psychiatric evaluation after posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook.

Prince George County Circuit Judge W. Allan Sharrett said at the end of a one-hour hearing that the involuntary commitment order issued by a magistrate against Brandon J. Raub was invalid because it contained no allegation or basis to hold him, according to the head of a civil liberties organization that represented the 26-year-old veteran.

"This is a great victory," Rutherford Institute executive director John Whitehead said. "He's a good human being. He just got caught in some weird bureaucratic meanderings and the judge recognized that there's really no true facts to hold this man in a psychiatric ward."

Raub's family was expected to pick him up from the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center later Thursday. His mother, Cathleen Thomas, did not immediately return a voicemail message.

Raub, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was taken into custody Aug. 16 after being questioned by Chesterfield County police and federal agents about his Facebook posts. The FBI said the interview was prompted by complaints from people who read his ominous posts, including some that spoke of a pending revolution. One said "a day of reckoning" was coming, and another said: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads."

Onlookers shot a video of Raub being led away from his home in handcuffs and posted it on You Tube, fueling a groundswell of support for the veteran and criticism that the government was trampling on his free-speech rights. The Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute came to his defense, characterizing the government's actions as those of a police state. Raub was not charged with a crime.

"Brandon Raub was arrested with no warning, targeted for doing nothing more than speaking out against the government, detained against his will, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys," Whitehead said. "These are the kinds of things that take place in totalitarian societies. Today, at least, Judge Allan Sharrett proved that justice can still prevail in America."

He called Raub's release a victory for the First Amendment.

"People a have right to go on Facebook or the Internet (and) say things that people might not agree with, "Whitehead said. "But that doesn't mean they're crazy or should be incarcerated for it."

Raub initially was taken the John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell, where he was held over the weekend for a preliminary evaluation. After a hearing Monday, another judge ordered Raub detained for an additional month and transferred him to the Salem VA hospital.

Thursday's hearing was expected to be limited to Raub's objection to the transfer, so Whitehead said Sharrett's decision came as a surprise.

"The petition is so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy," the order says.

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Associated Press Writer Michael Felberbaum contributed to this report.