A Trump Supporter Once Claimed He Was Kicked Out of the Army for Having a Photo of the President-Elect

Despite the widespread criticism surrounding Republican leader Donald Trump, supporters continue to stand by him. According to Mediaite, a supporter made headlines earlier this year when he appeared on Lindell TV, claiming that he was discharged from the army for having a picture of Trump on his phone. Piero Maranon-Velazco joined Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell at the Force Multipliers Conference in Las Vegas, which was broadcast on Lindell's Frank Speech TV platform. The clip of Maranon's statement understandably soon went viral. 

Maranon's assertions which have been championed by fellow Right supporters, have however failed to provide the whole context. This prompted him to clarify one of the incidents that had drawn a lot of complaints. According to the sources, "In one instance, Maranon and other trainees were in formation. There is a procedure called 'covering', whereby soldiers set their distance from one another so that they are properly spaced and orderly. It involves raising your left hand to the side to distance yourself properly from the soldier beside you."

They further explained, "Soldiers do the same for those in front of them. The trainees were fooling around, and one commented it was like doing the Nazi salute." In response, Maranon reprimanded the trainee and demonstrated that the Nazi salute uses the right hand. Subsequently, Maranon allegedly found out that he was reported for being a Nazi by a trainee who found the demonstrations offensive given his Jewish heritage. Maranon contends that the reporting was the starting point for their targeted harassment which ended with him getting 'kicked out of the military.' He also elaborated on another incident where the presence of a photo of Trump led to heightened scrutiny. 

He claimed that during the early days of his training, his phone, which had a screensaver featuring Trump, was handled by fellow trainees at a charging station while he was at religious services. Maranon said, “The females in charge of the phones saw this. And told me I was a racist, a Nazi, and a white supremacist, and this is without mentioning the insults I received from the Black females toward my wife for being White. I believe my fellow trainees began to target me because of these things.”

Trump has traditionally enjoyed strong turnout from his supporters, whether at his trademark rallies or during events like the Capitol riot, according to Politico. His supporters have consistently shown up in large numbers, even for historic moments such as the first criminal trial of a former American president. At a rally, the crowd chanted in support, “Donald Trump did nothing wrong,” while his detractors shouted, “No one is above the law. Trump is not above the law.” Despite being convicted on 34 charges earlier this year in May, Trump went on to secure an iconic return to the White House.

This article originally appeared 7 months ago.