The ex-Navy SEAL who professed to have killed Osama bin Laden was taken into custody in Texas.
Robert J. O’Neill, age 47, was apprehended in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday. O’Neill faced allegations of a Class A misdemeanor for assault causing bodily injury and a Class C misdemeanor for public intoxication, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. Yet, the records from Collin County jail solely indicate the assault allegation.
The former Navy Seal who generated controversy when he claimed he was the member of Team Six that shot and killed Osama Bin Laden has been arrested in Frisco. Robert O’Neill was taken to the Collin County jail charged w/ assault causing serious bodily injury, class A misdemeanor pic.twitter.com/QypgsQmf2L
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) August 25, 2023
O’Neill was released on the same day after posting a $3,500 bond.
The Navy SEAL was allegedly in the area to record a podcast episode at a nearby cigar lounge.
In 2016, O’Neill faced suspicion of driving under the influence in Montana when authorities discovered him asleep in the driver’s seat of a running car. He pleaded not guilty, explaining that he had taken a prescribed sleep aid to manage his long-standing severe insomnia.
Subsequently, the charge against O’Neill was dismissed by prosecutors, as both parties involved in the case attributed his medication as the cause, according to The Montana Standard. Instead, he faced charges of negligent endangerment and underwent deferred prosecution while receiving treatment through the Department of Affairs.
In 2020, O’Neill gained attention for refusing to wear a face mask on a flight despite pandemic mandates. Consequently, Delta Airlines imposed a ban on him.
O’Neill, a former member of SEAL Team 6, rose to fame when he asserted that he had shot and killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind 9/11. This occurred during the U.S. military’s “Operation Neptune Spear,” a raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011.
There have been disagreements over O’Neill’s assertion of having killed Osama bin Laden, with some contending that the terrorist leader was already deceased by the time O’Neill reached the compound.
Matt Bissonnette stated that another member of SEAL Team 6 fired the fatal shots that ended Osama bin Laden’s life. Matt Bissonette wrote the book “No Easy Day” under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book delves into his life of military service and notably focuses on Operation Neptune Spear.
O’Neill’s military service has earned him two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars, and a Joint Service Commendation Medal.
The U.S. government has neither confirmed nor refuted O’Neill’s narrative.
