Trial for Marine Accused of White Supremacist Activity Postponed as New Allegations Surface

This article by Jeff Schogol originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

The Marine Corps has temporarily dismissed charges against a junior officer who has accused of having ties to white supremacists so that investigators can look into new allegations of misconduct, a Corps spokesman said on Monday.

Marine 2nd Lt. Felippe Maher had been slated to appear before a general court-martial later this month before the case was withdrawn on Sept. 9.

The charges against Maher were dismissed without prejudice, which means they can still be brought to a court-martial, said Capt. Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for Training and Education Command.

The prosecution decided to start the case over in light of recent alleged misconduct that was discovered two weeks prior to Maher's original trial date, said Stephenson, who declined to comment about what the latest allegations against Maher entail because the matter is currently under investigation.

Maher had been charged with violating a lawful general order for allegedly advocating supremacist and extremist doctrine; making a false official statement for allegedly saying he never belonged to a white supremacist group; wrongfully getting a tattoo that is affiliated with extremists; conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and wrongfully trying to possess steroids, Stephenson told Task & Purpose in March.

Marine officials first confirmed in June 2019 that Maher was under investigation after a Twitter user shared what appeared to be racist pictures and video posted on Maher's Snapchat account, including the use of a racial epithet to describe former President Barack Obama.

The Twitter user also shared a picture of a man who bears a resemblance to Maher standing near white supremacist Richard Spencer at a Nazi rally, but Task & Purpose has been unable to determine if the man in the picture is actually Maher.

Maher's defense counsel could not be reached for comment on Monday.

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