The US Marine Corps decided not to punish a Marine who appeared on stage at a Trump rally
- Donald Trump brought Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark on stage at a "Save America" rally on September 25.
- Clark claimed to be "the guy that pulled the baby over the wall" at Kabul airport.
- The Marine Corps opened an investigation after the rally, and concluded that he would not be punished.
The US Marine Corps decided not to punish a service man who spoke on stage at a Donald Trump rally, according to internal Marine communications obtained by Insider via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark appeared on stage at a "Save America" rally in Perry, Georgia, on September 25, in which he introduced himself and claimed to be the "the guy that pulled the baby over the wall."
It was a reference to an August 19 video showing an officer pulling a baby over a wall near Kabul's airport during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Clark was deployed to Kabul with the 24th Marine Regiment in August as part of 6,000 service members sent to help evacuate diplomats, aid workers, and US citizens.
On September 30, the US Marine Corps said it was investigating whether Clark broke Department of Defense guidelines that forbade US service members from speaking "before a partisan political gathering."
But on October 6, two senior US Marine Corps commanders signed off on an internal investigation into Clark that concluded that his conduct did not violate the guidelines, per the documents obtained.
"While [Clark] identified himself at the prompting of former President Trump, [and] in doing so did speak at a political event, he did not do so in a manner which violates the applicable references," wrote Col. Eric Cloutier, the commanding officer of the 24th Marine regiment, per the documents.
"I do not believe that a reasonable person would consider [Clark's] words to constitute speech at a political event."
Surprised by mom to a Trump rally
During the investigation, the communications showed, Clark told senior officers that he left Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to spend the weekend of September 25 at home. Once there, Clark said his mother told him she was surprising him by taking him to meet some "important" people.
Clark called his platoon sergeant on September 24 to relay what his mother had told him, but made no mention of who he was to meet, the documents said. In response, Clark's platoon sergeant told him to shave, get a fresh haircut, and conduct himself as a Marine should.
On September 25, Clark was taken by his mother to the "Save America" rally in Perry. According to the documents, Clark told investigators he had no idea where he was going and that, once there, he didn't know he was going to be called on stage.
Clark said he didn't want to be disrespectful to Trump and decline his offer to go on stage, the documents said.
After being introduced by Trump as a "handsome guy," Clark made a short speech in which he identified himself as Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark from Warner Robins, Georgia, and said: "I am the guy that pulled the baby over the wall, and it's definitely probably one of the greatest things I've ever done in my entire life," he said.
"I just want to thank all of the support from all of y'all. It really means a lot, and I'm glad to be home now today. Thank you."
Clark's command told Insider last month that Clark was not the Marine seen in the August 19 video in Kabul. But Clark's mom, Peggy Clark, later told CNN that her son was standing behind the Marine who carried the baby to safety, and was handed the baby afterwards. The Marine Corps did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Clark had found support in GOP Rep. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret, who asked the Marine Corps in an October 7 letter to drop its investigation.
In the letter, Waltz said the Marine Corps should consider if "the military is unevenly applying justice to service members who hold conservative beliefs."
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