Navy: There is "No Evidence to Suspect Hate Crime" in Torture and Killing of Black, Gay Sailor

And so it begins. Despite reporting anti-gay harassment for at least one year before his death, and ultimately being tortured and killed in a horrific manner, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service says the brutal killing of U.S. Navy Seaman August Provost III at Camp Pendleton was "a random act unrelated to the his sexuality."

"There is no evidence or information that suggests this is a hate crime," Capt. Matt Brown, director of public affairs for Navy Region Southwest, tells the UPI. "The military also couldn't confirm that Seaman August Provost was harassed in the days before he was killed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported."

The family is outraged and says otherwise. Provost's sister says family members advised Provost—who had a boyfriend and was open about his sexuality on Facebook and MySpace—to "tell his supervisor" about the repeated homophobic harassment. And more confirmation plus chilling details in the Houston Chronicle: "Rose Roy of Beaumont said her nephew had complained a year before about being harassed for being gay. The Houston native was found dead Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Roy said the family was told that Provost was shot three times, had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and body burned."

Meanwhile, the political fallout begins. Democratic Rep. Bob Filner of suburban San Diego wants the Defense Department and Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of the sailor was a hate crime. The powerful Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman will also hold hearings because he was at Pendleton "for over 5 hours the day of the murder and no one in the Navy thought it was important enough" to tell him, says San Diego Commissioner Stampp Corbin in a scathing op-ed. Corbin, who also is black and gay, slams anti-gay Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray, whose district includes Camp Pendleton, as "missing in action."

Corbin writes at SDNN: "Bilbray has not been a friend to the LGBT community and I have to wonder if his silence has to do with Provost being a gay sailor. I cannot imagine Bilbray ignoring the murder on the base for any other reason. The murder has taken place within Bilbray’s district, he is an avid supporter of the military, but he has said nothing, absolutely nothing about the Provost incident. Bilbray is also a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. So Bilbray is a murder at Camp Pendleton unimportant because you don’t like the victim? Are you embarrassed that your support of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell creates a situation where gays and lesbians in the military, like Provost, may be hesitant to tell superiors of harassment because that would be 'telling?'"

NCIS has released the one person held and another "person of interest" is reportedly in custody. When will Naval Investigators charge someone with this brutal homicide? And how much longer will the military continue to pretend torture, shootings and firebombings are routine and "random acts" on United States military installations?

Related ...
Black Gay Sailor Killed, Hate Crime Suspected [R20]
Congressman Wants Investigation into Sailor Murder [R20]

Comments

[Celia Ruiz]

Rod ... bless you. Thanks for staying on this horrible and vile incident.

RIP August Provost and family

[Kevin Perez]

How fcuken convinent.

Awful to think if a heterosexual, White, God-fearing, middle-class male were a victim of such a crime it would be on the headlines. And Heaven only knows the c*nts that would use this to validate their bigotry on DADT, as well as their stupid beliefs about the gheys getting special rights or being "senstive".

2010 ain't that far and still such primitive way of thinking. The USA military thinks teh gheys are a bigger threat than Muslim radicals and will harm the "unity" of the soldiers and disorganize them. Sorry, I'm just giving the countless, weak, stupid arguments we here that people cover up their homophobic bigotry or somehow turn the tables to make themselves "victims".

[ff]

I could understand if they couldnt confirm it was a hate crime YET until a full investigation is done, but to come out already and say it was just a random act is BS.

and good for Corbin to step up to Bilbray. the more people that speak out on this the better

[TheRevKev]

To the brothers on Rod 2.0 who know that I am a pastor and an ordained minister of the gospel, I say:

OH...HELL...NO!

This is hell on earth, when people are being killed and the evidence is clear and people try to act like somehow if they sweep it under the carpet, then they don't have to acknowledge the abuse and hatred that LGBT people face in America!

HELL NO! This will no be swept under the carpet.

The lives of Men of Color in the Military are being used this year to be vocal and to show that THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM AND THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN THE LAW!

These brothers are busy serving our country and offering themselves as a sacrifice and in return are being tossed and, in this horrific case, killed by fellow Americans!

OH HELL NO!

Rod, keep reporting this! I am mad as hell, mad at hell, and we will not go quietly into that good night!

IT'S TIME FOR SOME ACTION!

[Corey Jarrell]

Thank you, Rod!
If it were not for your continued reporting of this story. As vile and disgusting as it is, and as sick to my stomach as it makes me, I have yet to read about (and I certainly have not heard about) it anywhere else. When I look at Mr. Provost's smiling face, or his style profile in the hat, it just makes me sad and angry, too! I'm reminded of how little regard and how little worth there is for our lives.

So, they are no longer interested in the first "person of interest" and so quickly they've moved onto another, huh? For someone whose claims of harassment (supposedly) cannot be proven, and who apparently met his end so randomly, there seems to be no shortage of people "of interest". I wonder how many of them it took to gag Provost's mouth, bind his hands, feet, and burn him.

This is so revolting. It turns my stomach. You know, The Revkev is right ~ it should be all about some action, but what's the first move?

[keith]

I can only echo revkev. OH HELL NO!!!! This is a feckin' outrage!!!
I could not beleive whwn I read that Rod thanks for keep us aware. SMH

[AzzedineAliaFan]

Wow like someone said if he had been WHITE, this stor would be shoved down our throats!! SAD!

[Luther]

Well, this was to be expected as cover ups are so strong in the military, but, this isn't going away in this city, not as long as longtime gay rights leader and , who called Filner, Nicole Murray-Ramirez is on the back of the people in charge, he won't stop until we find out the truth as he has done for the last few decades with issues of gays in the military in San Diego.

[Diva1961]

Thank you Rod. Please continue to keep us updated. I wonder if the investigation will allow the family to discuss what was told to them? They are the ones who hold all the information, yet the militart may only go with what was told to their organization.

Not telling the Head of VAC is what will bring this into the light more. He is now embarrassed and asking questions, as well as being a Democrat at a time that Obama was/is courting the LGBT vote and funding. Obamam is asking him what happened and all the Head of VAC can say know is that he didn't know this had happened even though he was there when it took place.

He is the one to write to and stay on about being present during the time something so horrific had taken place, and that he was not informed at the least as the Chairman of Veteran Committee(of course we all know he may have known, but is trying to save face now that it is all over the media, or at least starting to go all over the media).

As much as some say this can be spun to verify why DADT should stay in place as is (Repub, consrv, haters), it is even more reason to do away with this policy that promotes closet behavior and killings of those who feel they can't go to their Commanding Officers with these harrassment issues. If they go to their CO that could start an investigation into their sexuality and have everyone look into whether they are or are not gay, as oppose to simply stopping the harrassing behavior.

Clinton himself has said that DADT is a failure and that the military has taken it into a direction that he had never intended it for. There are more investigations than Clinton intended, where one was not supposed to be asked. But since it is under the guise of an investigation, the military person has to answer whatever questions are asked. So DADT can't work.

[Paul561]

In agreement with TheRevKev...OH...HELL...NO!! Rest In Peace Brotha August Provost.

[Paul561]

In agreement with TheRevKev...OH...HELL...NO!! Rest In Peace Brotha August Provost.

[Honut SInti]

I was channel surfing today and came across an episode of a show called The Cleaner. Benjamin Bratt, Michael Beach and Tyler Williams were the central characters. I did not catch the beginning of the show but I gathered that it centered around Beach's son, who was gay and died while in the military (I am not sure whether it was in combat or or by a fellow soldier). Beach struggled with his son's sexual orientation, death, his mistakes with his child and alcoholism. The script was raw in places and did not end all tidy and neat. I was rooted to the spot and watched the show until the end. Tyler from Everybody Hates Chris was the remaining son. Interestingly, no one uttered the word gay, although I heard the word homosexual once early on during an emotionally pitched grief scene aimed at his son's partner who attended a church funeral service.

I bring this up to note the coincidence of this TV episode with the news post at this site of the tragic real death of August Provost. I just feel engulfed with emotion. RIP August.

[Jim]

Thanks, Rod, especially for the link to Stampp Corbin's column on the San Diego News Network. I have posted two comments following his column.

[Gurlene]

Thanks Honut for that info. I didn't catch it but for all those who would like to know that episode of the Cleaner will air again 7/6/09 at 11pm on A&E and again on 7/7/09 at 3am.

[Diva1961]

I went to the Whitehouse.org site and there is a section where you can forward questions, and also ask for a reply. I wrote asking what is going to happen about August Provost III's death on military property by the hands of someone in the military. And that my conclusion came from where the body was found. Because only someone in the military would have access to where the body was foound.

You too can go to that site and send in that question or your version of it. If we let the Whitehouse know we are tired of this and want DADT ended we must use our voices in as many ways as possible.

[THEGAYTKEEPER]

SO IF THIS ISN'T A HATE CRIME WHAT IS IT THEN?

[JoeT]

It's an outrage they have the nerve to say this isn't a hate crime! Thank you for covering this. Look forward to the further investigation.

[Kmark]

You know the militray doesn't want to think they have a bunch of gays in there. Their homophobic and don't want new recruits did be scared off by gays in the military. So they deny this incident as one.

[chickenlittle]

Camp Pendleton is not in Bilbray's 50th district (look it up!) so you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

[soulbrotha]

You're right, chickenlittle. Camp Pendleton is located on the stretch between Oceanside and San Clemente. This is the 49TH district, not the 50th. And the Congressional rep is Darrell Issa [R]. I think Stampp may have a big mea culpa to write.