20 Marines May Be Charged in Death of Muslim Recruit from Michigan

At least 20 U.S. Marines face criminal charges and administrative action in the March death of a Muslim Marine recruit from Michigan who fell to his death down a 40-foot barracks stairwell 11 days after reporting to a boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, according to media reports.

Marine Raheel Siddiqui’s drill instructor at the training center, notorious for its harsh treatment of recruits, physically abused the 20-year-old recruit from Taylor and referred to him as a terrorist, Marine officials told the Wall Street Journal.

No charges have been filed pending a military hearing to decide whether administrative action or criminal proceedings should be pursued.

Siddiqui’s March 18 death was initially reported by Marine officials as a suicide, but Marine officials told the Detroit Free Press the new recruit likely jumped over a wall and fell three stories after his drill sergeant slapped him in the face and forced him to repeatedly run the length of the squad bay.

The Marine officials, who were not named by the Free Press because the investigation report hasn’t been made public, said Siddiqui had threatened suicide days before his death but was still required to report for training.

Previously on Patch

• Dingell Presses for Answers on Muslim Marine’s Death
• Investigators Want to Know: How Did Muslim Marine End Up Dead?

When Siddiqui died, the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island was already at the center of three ongoing investigations — the Marine Corps’s internal inquiry, as well as probes by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery — of 15 instructors and leaders accused of hazing, physical abuse, failure of supervision and assault.

In 2015, the drill instructor had been accused of harassing another Muslim recruit. He allegedly forced the recruit into a front-loading clothes dryer, accused the recruit of helping to plan the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and then switched on the dryer, forcing him to spin around in the machine, a Marine official familiar with the investigation told The Wall Street Journal.

During the recruit’s nearly two-hour ordeal, which included rigorous calisthenics in the shower, at least one other recruit overheard the drill instructor say: “Why are you even here? You’re gonna kill us the first chance you get, aren’t you, you terrorist? What are your plans, are you a terrorist?”

The probes have already resulted in the removal of the commanding officer of the Marine training regiment, Col. Paul D. Cucinotta, and its senior enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Nicholas A. Deabreu, and at least four officers and a number of drill instructors who are among the 20 who face potential disciplinary actions by the Marine Corps, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Also, the former commander of Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region was assigned to a desk job in Quantico, Virginia, and his promotion to a command assignment in Japan was put on hold in the event that he is called to testify in upcoming hearings, which could begin in the coming weeks.

Michigan Congresswoman Pressed for Probe

The investigation almost didn’t happen, but U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat, raised questions in an April 4 letter to Marine Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller about whether the recruit was hazed and bullied because of his religion.

Dingell, who met with Neller Thursday to discuss the findings of the command-level investigation, released the following statement:

“Today’s announcement by the Marine Corps is a first step in ensuring the family of Private Raheel Siddiqui receives the answers they deserve and that the Marine Corps is addressing the serious issues that led to this tragedy. I am grateful for the seriousness with which the Marine Corps has carried out this investigation to date, but it is critical that the process continue to be conducted in a manner that is thorough and ensures all those who are responsible are held accountable.

“Private Siddiqui was a son, brother and class valedictorian who believed this country represented freedom and opportunity. As a young Muslim man, he truly understood the value of freedom of religion, and all he wanted was to defend the ideals our nation holds dear. This weekend, I will visit Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island to see firsthand the recruit training process, meet with the new leadership and learn about the changes that are being implemented to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.

“This is the very least the Siddiqui family — and the thousands of families across our country whose children serve in uniform — deserve.”

Neller also released a statement Thursday. In it, he said that he “fully supported and endorsed” initial actions in the case.

“When America’s men and women commit to becoming Marines, we make a promise to them,” Neller said. “We pledge to train them with firmness, fairness, dignity and compassion.”

He added: “We mourn the loss of recruit Siddiqui, and we will take every step necessary to prevent tragic events like this from happening again.”

A statement by the Marine Corps summarizing the findings of the investigation acknowledged patterns of “recurrent physical and verbal abuse of recruits by drill instructors,” a general lack of oversight by those in command, and the “improper assignment of a drill instructor for duty while under investigation for previous allegations of assault and hazing.”

The son of immigrants, Siddqui was the valedictorian of his high school graduating class at Truman High School in Taylor in 2014. He was a robotics and engineering whiz at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus, where the Marines recruited him. He saw a short-term future as a jet mechanic for the Corps and a longer-term future as an FBI agent.

Photo courtesy of the Siddiqui family