Marine Veteran Who Refused COVID-19 Vaccine Detained at Former Duty Station, Transferred to Japanese Authorities
A former Marine lance corporal who refused the COVID-19 vaccine and was
kicked out of the service returned to her former Japan-based duty station
in an apparent act of civil disobedience and was arrested by police
earlier this month for alleged trespassing.
Catherine Arnett, 25, was separated from the Marine Corps after spending
113 days in pre-trial confinement awaiting court-martial for allegedly
refusing orders to board a plane to the United States, among other charges
that were dropped by the Marine Corps earlier this year.
According to Stars and Stripes, which first reported the arrest, Arnett
was transferred from American military police to Japanese authorities on
Dec. 1 after attempting to enter her former duty station, Marine Corps Air
Station Iwakuni, at 2:30 a.m. local time. She was released from custody
nearly two weeks ago, according to the publication.
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Military.com spoke to Jamie Engel, who said she was Arnett's "acting
secretary." Several pictures of the two posing together were posted to
social media. Arnett did not respond to Military.com's inquiry via
Facebook Messenger.
Engel said she had not heard from Arnett since her reported release
earlier this month.
Engel's last contact with Arnett was through the American embassy in Japan
around Dec. 8 when she received a letter apparently from Arnett, she said.
The U.S. consulate in Fukuoka, Japan, did not respond to the publication's
inquiries, and Engel declined to provide direct emails from the embassy.
"She wanted to stand on principle that everything -- her discharge
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