Jose Luis Nazario, Jr.

Who is Jose Luis Nazario, Jr.?

Sergeant Jose Luis Nazario, Jr. is the first American to be tried in a civilian court for war crimes which were allegedly committed while he was on active duty. Nazario was charged with voluntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence for his role in the death of four unarmed Iraqi. The Iraqis were killed on November 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, when Nazario was leading a squad of 13 Marines on house to house searches as part of Operation Phantom Fury, during the Second Battle of Fallujah.

Nazario, a former Marine, was charged under the 2000 Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act for the killing of unarmed Iraqi detainees in the city of Falluja. His trial began on August 19, 2008.

Nazario retired from the Marine Corps in 2005. After his retirement he was to become a Police officer in his home-town of Riverside, California.

The incident became known publicly when one of Nazario's subordinates, Sergeant Ryan Weemer applied for a job with the United States Secret Service. During his interview he was asked to identify the most serious crime he had participated in, and he described his role in the killing.