Joseph J. Kolb
FoxNews.com
12/21/2012
The ordeal for Jon Hammar Jr. who languished under deplorable conditions in a violent Mexican prison for four months is finally over.
Jon Hammar Sr,. has confirmed that his 27-year-old son, a Marine combat veteran, is back on U.S. soil and with him in a rented car in Brownsville, Texas.
Hammar Sr. said his son was released from CEDES prison at 8 p.m. local time and made it back across the bridge between Matamoros, Mexico and Brownsville, Texas by around 8:30 p.m.
The ex-Marine, who was arrested at the same border crossing Aug. 13 after attempting to declare an antique shotgun, was suffering from a stomach virus, according to his father as he and reunited son drove from the border looking for a hotel to spend the night.
“We’re both tired and at our wits end,” Hammar Sr. said. “We’re glad he’s out of there.”
His son declined interviews.
Hammar Sr., said because it was dark he could not get a good look at his son to see how the ordeal affected him physically.
He did express concern for the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder his son has been battling since 2008.
Hammar Sr., said he and his wife heard for their son’s attorney, Eddie Varon-Levy, Thursday night that there son was going to be released from prison today.
He quickly caught a flight and spent the day anxiously waiting for his son’s repatriation.
“It took them all freaking day to process him out,” Hammar Sr. said.
Now begins the rebuilding process for Jon Hammar Jr., who will make the 22 hour drive with his father back to their Palmetto Bay, Fla. home, to be reunited with his mother Olivia, and to spend Christmas at home.
There is related video and articles at FoxNews.com
Jim Hoft posted this article and video on 12/18: Unreal! Obama State Dept. Tells Parents of Iraq Vet Held in Mexico They Can’t Do Anything to Help
…Jon Hammar has been in a Mexican prison for four months on what is being called a trumped-up federal weapon charge. He was arrested Aug. 13 in Matamoros after he declared to Mexican customs agents a shotgun he planned to use for hunting in Costa Rica. He’s been held in jail since August and chained to a bed.
The Obama State Department says they can’t do anything…
Nice Deb has more.
…Bill O’Reilly has been on the case for weeks, determined to move authorities to act on his behalf. He was shocked when Mr. and Mrs. Hammar told him that they had been in contact with the State Dept. and had been told repeatedly that they couldn’t help them.
“Is that right?! O’Reilly exclaimed, “they said they can’t do anything?! Oh that’s a bunch of bull, he added, certainly they can do something! Certainly Obama can do something!”
Hills might want to get on this, ASAP, now that the cat is out of the bag. If this
soldierMarine! ends up dying in a Mexican prison because once again, her department failed to act – all the stomach viruses and fainting spells in the world won’t be enough to save her legacy…Greta Van Susteren made the point that governments fight to get their people out of foreign countries all the time, pointing out the Lockerbie bomber’s release back to Libya after killing hundreds but in this case, the U.S. government has done very little to help…
Read the whole thing.
Well, they were busy at the State Department, after all, working on getting their Benghazi stories straight…
#FreeHammar hashtag brings attention to plight of US Marine vet imprisoned in Mexico
…Jon Hammar, an Afghanistan and Iraq veteran and former U.S. Marine, was arrested in Mexico on Aug. 13 and remains there today, reportedly chained to a bed for much of the day. A recent story by the McClatchy news service has shed light on Hammar’s situation, and now concerned Americans are using the hashtags #BringHammarHome and #FreeHammar to draw attention to his case.
Hammar, 27, was arrested for possessing a 60-year-old Sears & Roebuck shotgun. Mexican authorities found the disassembled shotgun in Hammar’s motor home as he and a friend crossed the border on a surfing trip and charged him with possession of a weapon restricted for use to Mexico’s armed forces.
Needless to say, Americans are demanding action…
