To the Veterans Serving In Congress,

When we both raised our right hand and pledged our life for our country, we did something most Americans are unwilling to do- die for all of our rights.

Apparently, some judges in this country seem to think that because we receive training to master battlefield skills, we are now a menace to society.

I think they watched Rambo once too many times, and you and I both know that Hollywood and reality are two different places.

Isaac Wright is my brother, although I’ve not met him. We both served with Special Forces units at Ft. Bragg. Neither of us completed the Q-course, but judges don’t know what that is.

Both of us have exercised our rights to take photographs in public and been harassed. These are not crimes or violence; this is taking photos. His mastery of the art of photography is spectacular.

I am White, and Isaac is Black, but, because we both served, you and I know we’re really green.

I didn’t spend a minute in jail and fought for my rights and pro se, settled a federal civil case for almost $40K. Isaac spent time in jail, had a ridiculous bond, had his car and his phone confiscated. This is not the America you or I or Isaac raised our right hand to defend.

I quote from the NY Times on Isaac’s case:

“After the arrest, he was held without bond in 23-hour lockdown for more than two months. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Wright’s time in the Army made him too dangerous to release.

“The state has not known what his motivations are, what his experience is,” the Hamilton County prosecutor handling the case told a judge this spring. “But we do know what his training is, and his training makes him at least potentially very dangerous for our community.”

The judge set bail at $400,000, far more than Mr. Wright could afford…”

“Mr. Wright was released to await his Ohio trial. Soon he was pulled over by the Kentucky State Police, who had been tipped off by Detective Ruberg that Mr. Wright was potentially dangerous, and had climbed a bridge in their state. The troopers arrested him with Tasers drawn.

“I don’t understand why they are treating me like an animal,” Mr. Wright said in an emotional interview after he was released on bond a few days later…”

“A few days after he returned to Ohio, a dozen police officers, led by Detective Ruberg, pounded on Mr. Wright’s door. Philadelphia was charging him because of video footage that showed him climbing a bridge in the city. With guns drawn, police officers took him to jail on a new felony warrant.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/us/isaac-wright-driftershoots-ptsd.html

Fellow veterans, you have had the very same training. Mr. Wright has a 100% disability rating from the VA for injuries from a jump and PTSD. He’s committing a “victimless crime”- taking photographs, yet, somehow, some in our country seem to consider him a threat to their safety.

I ask you to spread this message to your brothers in arms who have the rank and standing to stop this nonsense. Treating veterans as ticking time-bombs is something for Hollywood- not the local jurisprudence.

I believe that a letter condemning this misguided perception of veterans from Congress would not only help Mr. Wright, but all of us, to be recognized for the sacrifices we make in order to keep our country free and safe.

Can you help this fellow veteran?

Thank you,

Sp 4 David Esrati, 7^th and 11^th SF, 1981-1987. 10% VA service disabled