JR Majewski, who is running for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, describes himself as a proud father, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and an Air Force veteran who saw combat during Operation: Enduring Freedom. “I would gladly suit up and go back to Afghanistan tonight and do my best to save these abandoned Americans,” he tweeted as the US pulls out of Afghanistan in 2021. “Why is our ‘President’ not … to?” But Mr. Majewski was never deployed in the country and had never fought. The Associated Press obtained Mr. Majewski’s military records and found no evidence that he had spent time in Afghanistan and no evidence that he had ever been in combat. According to the records, Mr. Majewski actually spent most of his time while enlisted stationed in Japan and spent six months loading planes at an air base in Qatar. Some former soldiers noted in social media posts that Qatar was where they were sent for rest and relaxation during Operation: Enduring Freedom. Despite this, Mr Majewski described the conditions he experienced during his military service as “harsh” and said he once had to go without running water for 40 days. His tweet last year isn’t the only time he’s misunderstood his service. During a podcast interview he claimed to have served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2003. When pressed for details about his deployment, Mr Majewski remained mum, claiming “I don’t like to talk about my military service”. When confronted by The Associated Press about the discrepancy in his filing, Mr. Majewski refused to admit that he had misled the public and instead attacked his opponent, the Democrat Marcy Kaptur. “I am proud to have served my country,” he said. “My accomplishments and my record are under attack, meanwhile, career politician Marcy Kaptur has a forty-year record of failure for my community in Toledo, which is why I’m running for Congress.” One of Mr. Majewski’s most notable contributions to his Toledo community was the giant mural of Mr. Trump he created on his lawn, which helped build the attention he needed locally to launch a political career. His alleged lies particularly angered Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who served as a Marine and was an actual combat veteran. “You are a piece of s*** @JRMajewski,” she wrote. “Trying to act like a tough guy who saw combat in Afghanistan… instead, you’re an example of stolen valor.” When a person lies about joining the military or makes up stories about their military career to enhance their image, some people accuse them of “stealing bravery” from veterans who actually had those experiences. “Hey @tomemmer and @NRCC are you still supporting candidate #stolenvalor? You still derisively refer to him as ‘Young Gun,’” Mr. Gallego wrote in another tweet about Mr. Majewski. “Although he definitely lied about using a weapon in Combat.” Mr. Gallego’s best friend died in action while fighting in Iraq. Mr Majewski was at the US Capitol on January 6 and claims he raised money to be able to bring a busload of people with him. Mr. Majewski told WTOL he brought 60 to 70 people to the riot. The Republican did not enter the Capitol himself, but told a QAnon podcast that he “wanted nothing more than to go into that building,” according to Media Matters for America.
