Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, who’s been in Navy custody since July 1 on suspicion of shooting fellow seaman August Provost (pictured), took his own life sometime Friday. Cause of death: self-inflicted asphyxiation. He choked himself, apparently, with toilet paper. Sad news, indeed. Even sadder for Provost’s family, who may never know why Campos allegedly murdered him. Campos was being held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on 16 charges.
MORE:
Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, 32, of Lancaster, Calif. was found unresponsive Friday afternoon in his brig cot at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Campos was alive when he was checked at 11:45 a.m. local time, but was unresponsive when found about 35 minutes later, a military news release said. The apparent cause of death was self-inflicted asphyxiation. He was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. Friday.
spindoc
Self inflicted??? More likely nobody wanted him to admit that it was a hate crime so somebody went and stuffed his throat with toilet paper.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
Some bloggerati are having the proverbial field day with this, insisting Campos’ strange death is just another part of a homohating Navy conspiracy…but rationality should give us pause…out of respect for Provost as much as the still uncertain truth.
It’s true that, of all the branches, the Navy, whose discharges of gays in some years has been twice that of all the other services combined, has a particularly long, documented history of mistreatment and deceit in relation to gays [e.g., blaming the infamous, deadly USS Iowa explosion on a man who was, apparently, not, in fact, gay]. And of stupidity—they once demanded gays being investigated tell them who “Dorothy” was, as in “friend of Dorothy.”
BUT in relation to the death of August Provost, in FACT, we only know that:
1. Provost was gay or bisexual.
2. There are CLAIMS that he complained to others, possibly including superiors, that he was being harassed on base for being G/B.
3. There are CLAIMS that he was murdered simply because he was G/B.
4. There are other CLAIMS that he was murdered by someone who feared that Provost would reveal the murderer’s own homosexuality. [There was a also rumor that gay sailor Allen Schindler’s 1992 murderer was gay. ABC News hack Esleazibeth Vargas tried to prove Matthew Shepard’s principle murderer was G/B.]
5. There are other CLAIMS that Provost was killed simply because, in his assignment in the guard house at the entrance to the base, he stood in the way of the real intent of the man who shot him, Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 2nd Class (SW) Jonathan Campos who
It is POSSIBLE that any combination of 2, 3, and 4 are true. BUT LGBTs are killed in any number of circumstances totally unrelated to our orientation, just as we die of many more causes than AIDS.
In the absence of credible EVIDENCE, it makes no more sense to say that Campos shot Provost because he was gay than to say that Campos’ theft of an Xbox was gay-related.
Until there IS reasonable EVIDENCE, can we please leave it at the possibility that there was a gay connection to the crime and not present speculation as truth simply because it’s more entertaining and/or serves some people’s needs to see homophobic victimology under every bed?
When we do that, we damage our credibility about everything else, including indisputable hate crimes generally, and the documented injustice and harm to servicemembers and the nation by DADT and rampant military homophobia that exists independent of it.
RIP August Provost.
[img]http://rodonline.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c6d4753ef011571f54cbc970b-pi[/img]
Julian Edward Domain
Channelling the church lady, Welllll isn’t that convenient. Please note sarcasm. Now the military won’t have to challenge any dirty allegations of perpetuating hate.
Lyndon Evans
Let the conspiracy theories begin !
Lloyd Baltazar
You know how this situation reads to me?
THE NAVY KILLS THIS CAMPOS GUY IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE MEDIA FROM EXPOSING THE EXISTENCE OF HOMOSEXUAL HATRED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY.
SO NOW THERE IS NO NEED TO SEARCH UP ON THE MURDER OR PROVOST BECAUSE THIS “SUSPECT” GUY HAS COMMITTED [GUILT] SUICIDE.
FAGGOT ASS SAILORS. PLEASE.
D-Sun
The Illuminati did it.
Boom
George Bush did it.
Dennis
Clearly Obama is responsible for all of this…August Provost’s murder, the suicide/or murder of his alleged assailant, the cover-up, everything!… can’t believe Queerty hasn’t found the “blame Obama” angle in all of this yet…Ed., you’re slipping.
Andy
@Dennis: Lulz. It all falls into place.
I say it was Henry Louis Gates drunk on Red Stripe. Call the cops!
Helga von ornstein
What is more disturbing about this murder is being overlooked. We are being asked to believe that Mr. Provost was in a guard shack placed on a road that led to ASSAULT AIRCRAFT. And this happened ON BASE but he was “alone”.
What really puts the icing on the cake here is THERE WAS NO VIDEO CAMERA either. Or so we are being asked to believe. Personally I do not believe it.
If terrorist can learn to fly a commercial jet I wonder how hard it would be to steal and fly fully armed assault aircraft that are guarded by one guard with a 14 shot pistol?
This is disturbing at too many angels. My heart goes out to the family.
No Homophobama
Poor Dennis. He has race related issues he cannot deal with. Obamalove. A dangerous disease for us queers.
Dennis
@No Homophobama:
Wow, a post from you that doesn’t include a “God is in the mix” reference…good, it seems like you’re making progress, I guess the medications are helping you…keep it up.