Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

Busy Courtroom
Many people are surprised when they learn that if you receive
a speeding ticket on Fort Meade, depending on the fine
associated with the infraction, you may be required to make
an appearance in the Fort Meade Magistrate Court. Not only
does Fort Meade have a Magistrate Court, but Fort Meade’s
courtroom is the largest in the National Capital Region
and as a result, has been host to some of the most highprofile
cases in the Army. For each of these proceedings,
the installation provides legal, logistical, security and when
necessary, media relations support.
High Profile Proceedings
U.S. v Smith and Cardona military dog handlers –
In 2005, two Army service members were prosecuted for
their use of their K9 partners to terrorize prisoners while
assigned security detail at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. While
the proceedings for Army Sergeants. Michael J. Smith
and Santos A. Cardona happened at Fort Meade, the two
dog handler cases were part of a larger abuse scandal
which resulted in multiple courts martial, reprimands and
demotions of officers including Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski
who was demoted to colonel, and dishonorably discharged.
Smith was found guilty and faced more than eight years in
prison but was sentenced to six months hard labor. Cardona
was found guilty of dereliction of duty and aggravated
assault and was sentenced to six months hard labor.
U.S. v Lt. Col. Terry Lakin – The 2010 court martial of
Lt. Col. Terry Lakin brought the political spotlight to the
installation. Lakin, an Army flight surgeon with 18 years in
uniform and who had earned his medical degree through the
Army, refused to deploy to Afghanistan, claiming his orders
were not valid because he questioned President Barack
Obama’s citizenship. Lakin, facing up to three years in prison,
eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in
prison, dishonorable discharge and loss of pay, and with just
two years left to serve, loss of all pension benefits. The early
hearings drew international media attention. However, when
the judge ruled that the defense could not call President
Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and a number
of other notables to testify in the case, most of the media
attention, and the viability of the case, disappeared. Political
supporters of Lakin called him a martyr.
U.S. v Bradly (Chelsey) Manning – In February 2013,
Manning was tried and convicted of leaking more than 750,000
secret government documents to WikiLeaks, including a
video from an Apache helicopter gun which showed an air
to ground attack under questionable circumstances. The 25-
year old Pvt. 2. was an intelligence analyst deployed to Iraq
at the time of the leaks. The pre-trial hearings and the legal
proceedings drew media attention from around the world. It
GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR
also drew wide support for Manning with many calling him
a whistleblower, a peacemaker and a hero with one group of
supporters nominating Manning for a Nobel Peace Prize in
2012.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years, but was released
after serving seven years in confinement. While in prison in
Leavenworth, Kansas, Manning was diagnosed with gender
dysphoria and underwent hormone replacement therapy.
By the time she was released in May 2017, her name had
changed to Chelsey Manning.
The Department of Defense Office of Military
Commissions; Starting in 2015, the DoD OMC began
to simultaneously conduct pre-trial motion hearings for
multiple terror suspects being held in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. In the interest of making the hearings as open to
the public as possible, Fort Meade was designated as a
location where stateside interested parties could view the
proceedings. Media, victim family members and interested
publics can watch simulcasts of the hearings from various
locations around the installation.
In February 2004, the first set of proceedings began
against Salim Hamdan. Multiple defendants have been tried
and convicted or freed, but many more cases remain. As
of July 2017, forty separate cases are on the calendar for
prosecution. Examples of the proceedings initiated from the
military commissions are:
U.S. v. Al Nashiri and U.S. v. Abd al-Rahim Hussein
Muhammed – They are alleged to have planned and
prepared the attack on the USS Cole in the Port of Aden
in Yemen. The attack on Oct. 12, 2000, killed 17 sailors,
wounded 37 sailors and severely damaged the ship.
U.S. v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four other
defendants, Walid Muhammad Salih, Mubarek Bin ‘Attash,
Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed
Adam al Hawsawi. All are accused of planning and executing
the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.S. v. Noor Uthman Muhammed – He is a Sudanese
national who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and providing
material support to terrorism for serving as an instructor and
as the deputy commander of a training camp in Afghanistan.
***
(Left top) Col. Terry Lakin was court marshalled for refusing to
deploy. The Army surgeon claimed his deployment orders were
invalid because he questioned President Obama’s citizenship and
his legitimacy as president. Lakin was sentenced to six months,
dishonorable discharge, loss of pay and benefits including his
pension. (Left bottom) The day Pvt. Bradley (Chelsey) Manning
was sentenced drew the largest media crowd. Print, TV and
online media from around the world covered the event.
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