Retired Navy SEAL who spent months behind bars in war crimes probe vows to not let it happen to others
Eddie Gallagher knows how it feels to have a target on your back, both on and off the battlefield.
The decorated Navy SEAL, now retired, served his country for more than two decades in combat zones overseas, fighting terrorists who were determined to kill him and harm America. Then, after returning home from his eighth and final deployment in 2017, Gallagher was accused of war crimes, put in the crosshairs of both prosecutors and the media and imprisoned for nearly eight months before his name was cleared.
Now, as co-founder of the Pipe Hitter Foundation, a nonprofit that gives financial and legal support to "veterans, police officers and their families," Gallagher is raising money to help others fighting similar battles.
Pipe Hitter has gone to bat for other controversial figures like Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, whose 17-year career ended in court-martial in 2021 after he went viral for questioning senior military leadership amid the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Another is Cmdr. Erik Ramey, a Navy physician who was serving as the senior medical officer at Basic Training Command (BUDs) when Seaman Kyle Mullen died after completing "Hell Week" training in California.
NAVY SEAL EDWARD GALLAGHER FOUND NOT GUILTY ON MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES
"What we do is we support active-duty military, law enforcement and first responders. If they're being unjustly accused for doing their job, we step in," Gallagher told Fox News Digital. "We provide emergency relief aid to their families while they're going through that stressful time."
On Oct. 12, the Pipe Hitter Foundation will host its first fundraiser, an event called "Operator For a Day" at Stronghold SOF Solutions in Defuniak Springs, Florida. Gallagher is teaming up with former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik and other highly trained military special operators to give civilians hands-on firearms training, show how to fight from vehicles and put on a special operator close-quarter combat live demonstration.
"What we're going to do is have all retired special operators coming in to help instruct, and we're going to be doing some basic pistol, rifle carving course, some vehicle stuff. We're really going to make it a lot of fun," Gallagher said. "For the people that do come, it's just going to give them a taste of what some of these individuals that they are supporting go through on a daily basis."
The retired SEAL said he hopes the event will give attendees more appreciation for what Navy SEALS and Green Berets go through when they risk their lives for their country.
Tickets are $3,000 per individual with ammo provided, though there are group discounts. While that is by no means cheap, Gallagher says the money will serve those who first served the American people.
NAVY SEAL FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MURDER, RANK RESTORED BY TRUMP: WHERE IS HE NOW?
"The big thing which I like that we do is we help mentor those people through that process. We're able to share our experiences of what we went through, and that does a lot for them, because when you're put in a situation like that, there's very few people who know exactly what that feels like and the amount of pressure that's put upon you and your family when the government is targeting you," Gallagher said.
It's personal for Gallagher. In 2017, he was found not guilty of murdering an Islamic State fighter but was convicted of posing with the dead prisoner's corpse. The Navy reduced his rank from chief petty officer to petty officer first class and considered revoking his SEAL trident insignia.
Former President Trump took notice of Gallagher's story after it garnered national media attention and intervened on his behalf to restore his previous rank in 2019. He also stopped the Navy from seeking further disciplinary action against him and fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer for his handling of the case.
After his acquittal, Gallagher sued his former attorneys for allegedly delaying his case to run up his legal bills. He also accused the prosecutors of acting illegally and unethically.
The prosecutors from the case were awarded a Navy Achievement medal just eight days after Gallagher was acquitted on most of the charges. Trump had the medals promptly rescinded and described the attorneys' actions as "incompetent."
Gallagher retired in 2020 to found the Pipe Hitter Foundation alongside his wife, Andrea. The 501(c)(3) organization has since aided a number of military and law enforcement personnel accused of wrongdoing, those like Ben Darby, an Alabama police officer accused of murder after he shot and killed a man threatening suicide.
Darby shot and killed Jeff Parker on April 3, 2018, after Parker called 911 and threatened suicide. The incident was caught on video and a review board deemed Darby's actions were justified. However, the Madison County district attorney pursued murder charges against the officer and Darby was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Pipe Hitter Foundation assisted Darby as he appealed his case. After serving about 20 months in prison, an appeals court overturned the conviction and Darby was released. The officer later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a judge sentenced him to three years of probation in 2023, AL.com reported.
"He was able to go back to his family," Gallagher said of Darby. "You know, the frights are never over there either. He has to overcome all of the fake news and just the way he was demonized in the media."
TRUMP DECLARES NAVY WILL NOT TAKE AWAY EDDIE GALLAGHER'S SEAL TRIDENT AS ATTORNEY BLASTS ADMIRAL
Pipe Hitter recently became involved in Ramey's case as the Navy physician now faces an inquiry related to Mullen's death.
A Navy autopsy said Mullen was suffering from acute pneumonia and had an enlarged heart. An investigation released last year found there were widespread failures in medical care, poor oversight and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the BUDs training program, the Associated Press reported. Ramey and the commander of Naval Special Warfare Training Command, Capt. Brad Geary, were among those officers identified as responsible after the BUDs student died.
The Pipe Hitter Foundation says the Bureau of Naval Medicine had already investigated and determined that Ramey met the standard of care and exonerated him.
"They're trying to hang those two out to dry," Gallagher said. "When we saw this happening, we knew exactly what it was. And so we're supporting Dr. Ramey and hopefully pressuring the Navy to do the right thing and drop these charges against him because he is in jeopardy of losing his medical license."
These cases are hard, but Gallagher argues that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and no one deserves to be vilified before they have their day in court, especially those who volunteer to serve the country. If service members are demonized, Gallagher said, fewer people will want to serve.
"I think it's a bigger problem than people know about," he said. "I met people when I was locked up. I met young kids that did not deserve to be in there. They made a mistake in life, you know, and the overpunishment in the military is ridiculous. You had these kids serving five to six years for showing up late to a formation or failing a drug test."
He noted that if some of those teens had gone to college instead of volunteering for military service, they would be free.
"The military has a nasty epidemic of overpunishing people to keep their prosecution rates up. So, it's a major problem. I think the UCMJ, which is the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is an outdated and archaic system, and it's very corrupt the way it's run."
Gallagher said military justice reform is one of the pillars of the Pipe Hitter Foundation's mission. His hope is that their work, supported by Saturday's fundraiser, will encourage young men and women to volunteer to serve.
"We have a huge recruiting crisis going on. And I think it's due to the fact that these young men and women, who are coming up out of high school or in college, are seeing the way people in the military were treated, especially over the whole COVID vaccine mandate and all the individuals they kicked out illegally and then invited back years later without an apology.
"Young men and women are paying attention. So, if they can see that there are groups out there who support these people that are getting falsely accused or are grossly mistreated, hopefully that will give them some hope to stand up, raise your right hand and want to serve the country."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Fox News Digital's Nick Givas contributed to this report.