Ugly rumor of the day: Navy to charge Lt. Commander Timothy White with illegal gun possession during Chattanooga shooting.

The recruitment station that was attacked. April Grimmit.

I usually don't post about rumors but this one is incredibly disturbing if true. According to Allen West, a former congressman and Army Lt. Colonel, the United States government is going to charge Lt. Commander Timothy White with illegal possession and/or use of a firearms. Who is Timothy White? Well, according to the Time Free Press, a Chattanooga newspaper, Lt. Commander Timothy White was the commander of the Navy recruitment center that was attacked by Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez during the 2015 Chattanooga shootings. White returned fire with his own personal weapon during the attack, though it is not known if he hit Abdulazeez. The attack took place in a gun free zone, of course, and if White really did return fire, then he could indeed be prosecuted.

There is a huge caveat to the whole story though. Nobody reliable is reporting it. The only primary source is from Allen West, and he doesn't strike me as entirely credible. Nobody so far has actually talked to the military, as far as I can tell, and West is citing an anonymous text message without any way to confirm. And there is a whole lot of outrage and finger pointing in West's article, but very little in the way of facts.

I don't know much about Allen West other then I could gather on Wikipedia. He seems to have been a one term congressman and has a stellar war record from the first and second Iraq Wars. He also seems to have an ax to grind against the current administration. As of this writing, he is the only source that I have been able to find that is saying that White will be charged. And the Times Free Press article is the only one I have been able to find that said White even fired his weapon, or even exists at all. I have seen articles saying that one or two Navy or Marine servicemen returned fire at Abdulazeez, but none that named Timothy White as one of the shooters. 

So is the story accurate? Way too early to tell, but it sounds like something that could happen. Our government is completely tone deaf and I could see them charging someone under these circumstances. After all, it was illegal to carry firearms on military installations, even if those installations are vulnerable to attack. And our current administration absolutely hates the idea of self defense and gun rights.

But seriously? I have to think that even the Obama administration isn't that stupid. They would have to know how poorly this would play to the American public. After all, even if White did carry his weapon illegally, shooting at a terrorist who was killing American servicemen, is an act of heroism. You don't send hero's to prison, unless you want to piss everyone off.

My guess? Either this story was completely pulled out of thin air by Allen West and has nothing to do with reality, or there is some kind of mitigating factor here we aren't hearing about yet that could justify charges. The only thing I can think of, and this is pure wild speculation on my part, is that White fired and hit one of his own guys, but I seriously doubt that happened. If it did though, it would be a nightmare scenario for gun rights since gun control advocates always like to say that concealed carriers could shoot innocent people by accident during a mass shooting. As far as I know it has never happened, and I doubt it happened here. But it is the only thing I can think of that would make this make any sense whatsoever.

Of the three options I think the story being false is the most likely. None of the sources I have read that claim White will be charged have been credible. Most of them are far to the right and come off as conspiracy sites. Sure Allen West was a congressman but that doesn't necessarily make this story credible. I am guessing that the story will be debunked soon by actual journalists. Until then, I would urge restraint. The last thing we need to do is go nuts over something that isn't even going to happen.

That being said, if the story is confirmed as West wrote it, then I plan to stand by Lt. Commander White. Charging a man for defending himself and others is just sick and it should never happen. Period.