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Updated 10:30 p.m. ET: The South Florida Marine veteran who for months was detained at a Mexican prison for bringing an unloaded shotgun into the country has been freed, officials and his lawyer said late Friday.
Jon Hammar is seen in an undated photograph provided by his family.
The attorney for Jon Hammar tweeted Friday night that his client had been released from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. officials were planning to drive the 27-year-old Hammar across the border at Brownsville, Texas.
"He's out. Going home," wrote Eddie Varon Levy in a tweet.
With the judge’s ruling, Hammer was expected to be released after noon Friday, according to a statement from U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Several members of Congress said earlier Friday that a judge had agreed to free Hammar.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's office said in a statement that according to a defense attorney, 27-year-old Jon Hammar was being held at the Matamoros prison on a gun charge, but at a hearing, it was determined he had no intent to commit a crime by taking the firearm to Mexico.
"No American should be in a Mexican jail for five months without being able to have his case in front of a judge," Nelson said Friday. "We're grateful; this is a good Christmas present."
With the judge’s ruling, Hammar was expected to be released after noon Friday, according to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
NBCMiami.com: Family steps up lobby to get Hammar released
“Our Marine hero, our local hero, will be freed today from a Mexican prison,” Ros-Lehtinen said at a press conference. “He’s been there chained to his bed in terrible condition since August for a trumped-up gun charge that should have never been leveled against him.”
The Marine veteran’s mother notified congressional members of her son’s pending release early Friday. The news was confirmed by a defense lawyer, the State Department and the Mexican embassy, according to spokespeople for Nelson and Ros-Lehtinen.
His mother, Olivia Hammar, called Ros-Lehtinen’s office to say, “Hallelujah! Prayers work and hard work pays off,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
Friday, the U.S. Consulate was standing by to safely escort the former Marine to the United States. Instead of being taken on a plane, Hammar was to be driven across the Mexican border to Texas.
Ros-Lehtinen said the Hammar family is thankful for the community’s support. “He will be home for Christmas,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “The family has been so grateful.”
At his home in Palmetto Bay, Hammar's mother anxiously waited until she was assured he was safe and in the U.S.
Leave a Comment:
stinking mexican police get to keep the Winnebago.
"you dont respect our servicemen + citizens
you dont get our help + money.
Glad he'll be home for Christmas. He was, and still may be, an idiot. The safe bet is NOT attempting to exercise your (current) 2nd Ammendment Rights in Mexico - does not matter who told you what, where, or when.
Please get your facts straight, this guy did nothing wrong. A tiny bit of research will display what really happened and how badly this Marine was jacked around.
just poor judgement........with a bunch of stupid comments.
this guy is an idiot period regardless if he tried to register it or not
He is entering Mexico and not US where there are rules. He should know better plus the first thing you read when you cross mexican border is says' Firearms are illegal in mexico" ( which I find a joke with all the crime there)
The jar head is an idiot period- then his parents want the help of everyone to get him out. please give me a break
I cant wait for Fox's Bill Orielly taking credit for his release once he comes back on jan 2 as he was saying last night
"if they dont release him by the time I return I Bill O will ask for boycott of mexican tacos"
The marine was an idiot period and proves it and who cares if he served in afgahnistan or not.
Sounds like you are part of the Left Wing Conspiracy in this country with Barack Husein Obama as your fuhrer.
They just wanted money from him!!
It is funny to read all the comments above, it is evident some of them have not completed reading and comprehension. ( he declared the gun and they arrested him)
What so of ya'll lib idiots dont know, is it is illegial for citizens to own guns in Mexico, that is the reason they are subjects.
The police , army , and drug dealers control the guns, and you better be prepared to pay all of them when they pull you over.
That life , when you are a subject, instead of a citizen.
When will Americans learn that were at war with these people. They don't like use Americans. This shows it .Go to there country and you may never come back. THE REASON THERE HERE and have it so good is because of are government. They make money off of them. Were being sold out and there slowly taking over are country. My kids will grow up in a country my father and others fathers fought for and have little because these people come first as far as are government gos. This country can be called American, But not to far off it will be Mexican America. And all that are for fathers fought for will be lost. What was a great country is now a country of crooks liars and low life's, That pat each other on the back for the little they do. God bless America as long as it last.
Ok some of you are only basing your information of this one article. This has been getting reported on for some time now by various news sources. Allow me to respectfully give you the information.
He asked US customs if it was okay for him to bring the gun into Mexico. They told him yes.
He asked Mexico customs if it was okay. Instead of saying no they chose to arrest him. He did not try to sneak the gun in. He tried to make sure it was okay for him to have it there.
I will say this however. If this had just been an average joe that this happened to I'm pretty sure the media would probably not of reported on it and it would of taken longer to get out of jail or they would of
had to serve a full sentence in jail
These Mexican border customs people were waiting for mordida (the bite). You can bet dinero changed hands before they let him go. Mexican officials are hugely corrupt. Also, in Mexico, you are guilty until proven innocent.
Thank you Fox News and Bill O'Reilly for keeping this in the news and us informed.
Fox news and the rest tell you just what there told to. The truth is far from what you hear. And in America your guilty until you are PROVEN innocent. Or have money then you don't go to jail at all.That's the new American way. Look into that and see for your self . Government took God out of America and let the money rule, now look what a country we live in.
When the Presidents press secretary was asked as late as yesterday by a newsman about this, he stated he didn't know anything about it. This situation has been going on since August. Enough said.
UK WILDCAT1947,What does that tell you.That they lie and do what they have to not what they should do. The President is no better. He will do what ever he has to to keep his job and the poll's up. I once thought a man like the President was a good and honest man. Not any more. He's as big a crook as the rest. Sad how money and power can take the soul's of these people, And sad that there family member's will grow up as they do.
Just another example of how inept and corrupt Mexican 'authorities' and 'officials' are. I'm surprised there wasn't any 'ransom' demanded for his safe return.
So they are inept and corrupt for following Mexico's law?
that's nice honey
Let me Start with this, on all entry points to Mexico There is a BIG sign that Said "is illegal to carry weapons or Ammo into Mexico and is penalize by Jail" No questions ask.
Just because this guy is a Marine is not to blame. 2 or 3 miles before crossing the Border these signs are display. I live by the border and We know that you going to be jail no questions ask if found with any kind of weapon or ammo. Happen frequently to Hunters who forgot to unload the ammo or riffle before crossing to Mexico. But since this people is from Hispanic heritage we don't do a big fuzz, they spend 3-6 months in jail for illegally crossing firearms any kind or Ammo.
Get it any kind!!!!! even if you try to declare, you are in Mexico with an illegal firearm you are going to be Jail.
So Hope this make you Understand, He is not different that the others jail for the same reasons and no one fight for them, because they are not marines or simply because they are Hispanic descendants.
I used to live in South Texas, and stories like this are not unusual. Once a senior citizen was arrested at the border because he had a shotgun under the seat in his truck. He had forgotten it was there. He spent some time in a Mexico jail - way too long before it was sorted out. Best never to take a gun into Mexico - unless you're smuggling AK47s, etc...for drug dealers of course.
Leave that kind of smuggling to Eric Holder and his "gang".
How long do we wait for him to cross stateside before nbcnews updates this?
Wehen we enter their country they do what they want. When we catch them, we return them to the border. What BullS**t.
The only problem is, he had a weapon and most illegal aliens do not have a weapon. Do we send the ones with weapons back to Mexico? Shoot, Mexico probably does not want those criminals with weapons back in the first place.
lOl, illegal aliens are jailed for almost a year before their are sent to their countries, NOW AIN'T THAT FUNNY?
He was stupid to take a weapon into Mexico in the first place no matter what anyone says too include Mr. Marine. What did he need the weapon for? Was he scared they might be attacked by the Mexican Cartel members? His mother said, it was a rifle to shoot birds? I thought it was a shot gun? They are going to Mexico to shoot birds? lol He was going on a trip with his friend to surf, I do not see where anyone said he was there to hunt so what was the weapon for? That is how dumb our border custom agents are, they should have asked him what did he need the weapon in Mexico for? Maybe they did ask him, but I never read anything about what he was going to us it for. Plus, he probably does not even know the hunting laws in Mexico. This guy was a moron and like some have said, he got lucky. We all need to stay away from that stink hole they call Mexico.
You should have been watching Bill Oreilly for the past two weeks or so and all of the questions you have asked here would have been answered for you. Fox has covered this story and pressured our government and the Mexican government into releasing this man.
Ok, i read another article and he said, he was going to do some small game hunting, but he did not have the correct permits to bring the weapon into Mexico. That is a dumb on his part, once again, stupid to bring a weapon into another country. I read also the US Customs Border Agents do not address other countries laws or give advice and I agree, they need to worry about our laws and enforcing them. He should have learned about Mexico's laws before entering their country. That is just plain common sense.
sharrianne, yea, i have not really paid attention to this story because he is just another American Idiot that is amongst us. I respect him for his service to our country, but he is not in the military anymore. Do not bring a weapon to another country and you will have no problems. If you want to hunt in their country than you better know the laws and of course he did not.
maybe you ought to tune in to Oreilly and he give you the low down on what really happened to this marine.
. Not one time did the detestable NBC do a report on this story in the last 4 months...They didn't report on this because It would have made Obama Hilary Clinton,and Mexico look bad ...This ex marine has been held captive and in chains much of the time by corrupt Mexican officials since last August on bogus gun charges and were trying to extort money from the Hammar family. The Hammar family had been pleading for Obama or Hilary Clinton for help with no response..and most likely a simple statement by Obama would have been all that was needed. NBC did not care about this young veteran but only cared again about their liberal agenda...NBC is despicable excuse of a legitimate news source..and should not be taken serious by anyone.
brasstacs...i'm in total agreement with you!
Here's a sad thing of all this craziness. Our top officials knew nothing of this after all the press, mostly through Fox news. Obama nowhere, H.Clinton nowhere, when Jay Carney was asked at Tuesdays presidential press confernece what Obama's thoughts are about this, Carney had NO CLUE what the reporter was asking about.(sorry for the run-on sentence.) The Mexican border agents were hoping for a bribe and when that didn't happen, he was arrested. The US state department can work out all the little details to send U.S. chefs to travel to other countries for cultural exchange, but when it comes to releasing an American citizen, a Marine defending our country, they claimed there was nothing more they could do for him. SAD.
I am happy Marine Jon Hammer is being released.
Why hasn't the liberal media been reporting this story ??
Amazing that MSNBC/NBC has even mentioned this story. Bill Oreilly and Fox is the reason this marine is going to be freed. Bill has been working on freeing this man daily. Kudos to you Bill Oreilly and Merrry Christmas.
Well, no comments so maybe Reuters will have something or BBC.
All of you blaming the Marine need to do a little research about this incident. You do not have the pertinent facts.
"No American should be in a Mexican jail for five months without being able to have his case in front of a judge," Nelson said Friday. "We're grateful; this is a good Christmas present."
Mr Nelson, But we can keep illegal immigrant as long as we want!! Get real. They should of kept his ass over there. This guy should of gotten charge with a felony and keep him there for another year this is what the USA does.
Mexico, wake up and smell the roses
While I agree what Jon Hammar did should have warranted the Mexican customs officials sending him back across the border rather than jailing him, what he did was dumb. Anyone planning to take a gun into another country needs to know the law well in advance of that country, probably by contacting the country's consulate or embassy. They should get the process in writing and follow it. Might even want to have an attorney's help so if there is a screw up you can sue the lawyer.
Someone needs to investigate the conduct of our border agents who lead Hammar believe what he was doing was okay.
Missing from the article was the fact that Fox News and Bill O'Reilly were planning a boycott of Mexico if he was not released before Christmas. There was no mention of any action by the White House on this because there was none. Bill O'Reilly should get some of the credit for his release. Other than Fox, no other network was following this until this week.
Commander, Wayne L. Johnson, JAGC, Navy (Retired), Alexandria, VA
When I read the article I really did not expect NBC to give any credit to Bill Oreilly or anyone at Fox for their work in helping to free this ex-marine.
Good job Fox News and Bill Oreilly!!
Thank you Commander.. NBC and the and the entire liberal media should be ashamed. And Fox news should be commended.
If you try to take a gun into Mexico during the last 4 years when there is a heavy war against cartels then you're gonna have a bad time. Seriously everyone is butthurt because "OH HE IS AN AMERICAN, RELEASE HIM NOW, HE IS AN AMERICAN" Though flip the scenario and nobody gives a @!$%# when a Mexican is jailed unjustly in the US. But hey, this is an American we're talking about, our people should have immunity everywhere, @!$%# their laws MERICA.
What a great gift for his family. I'm happy he was released and will be home for Christmas!
If you cross the border, there are signs saying don't bring "Guns our any weapons" follow the law. Mexico they don't f**k around there, regardless who you are. But I'm glad he's out.