A man who was arrested for claiming to be a veteran got his walking papers from a federal judge last week who claimed the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional.
District Court Judge Robert Blackburn ruled that the law, meant to keep individuals from boasting unearned service medals, is an infringement of the First Amendment, according to the Huffington Post.
“This wholly unsubstantiated assertion is, frankly, shocking and, indeed, unintentionally insulting to the profound sacrifices of military personnel the Stolen Valor Act purports to honor,” Blackburn wrote as reported in the Denver Post. “To suggest that the battlefield heroism of our servicemen and women is motivated in any way, let alone in a compelling way, by considerations of whether a medal may be awarded simply defies my comprehension.”
Rick Strandlof was arrested in 2009 after claims of being a wounded, three-tour Iraq veteran who was a captain in the Marine Corps were found to be fraudulent. Strandlof also claimed to be a recipient of both the Purple Heart and Silver Star, a graduate of the Naval Academy and survivor of the attack on the Pentagon in 2001. Records show that Strandlof never served in the military or attended the academy.
Prior to his arrest, Strandlof had helped form a veterans rights organization, fought for homeless vets in Colorado Springs and sent care packages to troops, according to the Post.
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