Family members of a Marine detained in Russia say they will stage a demonstration outside the site of President Joe Biden's address on Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas, after he declined a meeting with them while there, The Hill reports.
Joey Reed, the father of detained Marine Trevor Reed, told The Hill that the White House cited scheduling constraints when it declined to meet with the family. Biden is set to visit the Fort Worth Veterans Affairs facility on Tuesday to talk about expanding healthcare for veterans exposed to burn pits.
Joey Reed, his wife, Paula Reed, and Tervor's sister, Taylor, say that since the meeting was declined, they will demonstrate to raise awareness about his case.
Joey Reed told The Hill that the demonstration is an “act of desperation.”
“We desperately want to meet with our president who we voted for,” he said. “Our family are centrists.”
“We just think that it would benefit everyone if we could just speak to him for a few minutes,” he told The Hill.
The White House did not return requests for comment to The Hill.
Trevor Reed, a Texas native, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after he was convicted of assaulting a police officer while drunk. He was sentenced in 2020.
Reed has said he has no memory of what happened.
He served as a guard at Camp David during the Obama administration.
His family fears he will be used as a pawn in Russia's broken relations with the United States following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the crippling sanctions placed on Russia by the United States and other Western nations.
Reed is among other Americans whose families also fear for their safety, including Paul Whelan, another Marine who is a Canadian, British and Irish citizen. Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on a spying conviction. His family denies any wrongdoing on Whelan's part.
The United States calls both unjust.
WNBA star Brittany Griner has been detained in Russia for about a month after airport authorities said they found hashish oil in her bags.
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