Thousands of U.S. veterans are potentially being shut out of jobs and branded as criminals because of what one analyst called a “humiliating” FBI blunder under President Donald Trump.
The War Horse report, published by Mother Jones on Thursday, focuses on several service members who are struggling to find employment due to a bizarre error with an FBI list called "titling" that catalogues them as "likely criminals."
"The term sounds nonthreatening enough. But in the military, 'titling' isn’t about taking ownership of a car or property. It’s what happens when a service member’s name is simply listed as the 'subject' in a military criminal investigative report. 'Titling does not mean an individual has been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime,' a legal assistance document on the Army’s website explains," according to the report.
The titling move follows a settlement in 2023, when the military "overcorrected" in their response after a November 2017 shooting at a Texas church. Air Force veteran Devin Kelley, who had two domestic assault convictions, killed 26 people, including several children, in what is now one of the deadliest mass shootings in the state.
Denise Rosales, a Texas mom and National Guard member, has sued the Army to try and clear her name, a move that's likely to "upend the military justice system," according to the report. Rosales has never been arrested, handcuffed, taken into custody or stood before a judge.
"And yet, if you perform a background check, a criminal database maintained by the FBI will say that she was 'arrested or received' into custody and charged with three crimes in January 2021," according to the report.
Four years ago, when she was deployed in Kuwait, Rosales apparently threw a party for her husband.
"Some of the guests allegedly brought alcohol, according to the Army, 'in a nation where such substances are illegal.' She was investigated and fingerprinted by an Army investigator, but received nothing more than an administrative reprimand," The War Horse reports.
Since then, she's been denied jobs and even turned down to chaperone her kids on school field trips after not passing background checks, which she said has been "humiliating."
“I want my children to be proud of their mother,” she said in the affidavit, “and not ask why I cannot attend a school event.”
It's something Rosales wants to change.
“In the vast majority of cases, these [investigators] are young soldiers who don’t have any significant level of criminal justice experience, but are somehow vested with tremendous authority to make determinations that follow people for the rest of their lives,” said Doug O’Connell, the Texas-based attorney representing Rosales.
The former Army Special Forces colonel has now dedicated his career to defending service members who are trying to prove these alleged crimes did not happen — and forced to appeal these titles.
“They’ve created a system where you’re guilty until proven innocent,” O’Connell said. “If the [Army Criminal Investigation Division] agent believes something, then you’re going to have this criminal history created, and it’s up to you to now prove that it didn’t happen.”