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RTMay 21
US Seizes Passport of Former Weapons Inspector En Route to Russia
Above: Scott Ritter, former chief weapons inspector for the UN Special Commission, before an audience at the California Institute of Technology on November 13, 2002 in Pasadena, California. Image copyright: David McNew/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Former US Marine Corps Intelligence Officer and United Nations Special Commission weapons inspector Scott Ritter was on Monday prevented from boarding a flight from New York to Istanbul, en route to a speaking event in Russia.
Ritter, a whistleblower turned media personality, was scheduled to participate in two panels at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), before being prevented from boarding his Turkish Airlines flight. He also reported that his passport was confiscated by US border officials, and has not yet been returned.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Ritter is an outspoken supporter of Putin and the Kremlin, even going as far as to visit Russia to give pep talks to Russian soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine. He obviously has contacts with sanctioned leaders in Russia. Additionally, as a former US intelligence official, he's held to additional standards that the average civilian is not. It's not unreasonable that he may face travel restrictions beyond those of ordinary US citizens. While this makes a nice headline, it's hardly news.
Establishment-critical narrative
Ritter is an independent journalist who is being censored and punished by the US government for his views. Americans are losing freedoms, and this is just one example. Protections for freedom of speech and for the prevention of unnecessary searches and seizures like that of Ritter's bags and passport are enshrined in the American Constitution. How can anyone call Russia an authoritarian state while ignoring this blatant hypocrisy?