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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:
Should have paid the "Mordida" and he would have been on his way...
Another reason to never, ever visit Mexico.
Good job Bill Oreilly, the folks at Fox News for helping to free Jon Hammar.
Merry Christmas to Jon & his family.
As a young naive guy who tried to do the right thing, got insufficient advice from U.S...Customs and
was in a very technical violation of Mexican law.
He should have been out 24 hours after being arrested. The Mexicans can come here, disregard our laws, get work, get housing, get money, have their babies free to anchor their families here, and their government kept one of ours for 4+ months! That's our government for you. If it was Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Biden or Holder's family member that was arrested, you can bet your sweet ass they would have been out in 24 hours or less!
Why aren't we doing the same to Mexico's illegal aliens that come here and disregard our laws. The U.S.A. has laws, too! Why are our laws made to be broken, but Mexico can enforce their laws? Hmmmmmm, I'm a bit flabbergasted over this one!
Why aren't we enforcing our laws? Why isn't the U.S. government enforcing our laws? Why can the Mexicans come here and spit on us and our laws?
This confuses me to Hell!
What pisses me off is that Mexico acts as if they aren't corrupt and make a big deal about a weapon when they have Drug Cartel running around cutting heads off people. Give me a break
I was a Marine stationed in California. My brother-in-law had just graduated from high school and he and a couple of his buddies left Minnesota to visit my wife and I. While there, I discovered that he had a .22 caliber weapon in his car and I just about went nuts. I made him take it apart and I wrote a note for him to take back to MN with him. Sure enough, they went through Vegas and you can pretty much guess the rest. Just young kids on an outting. The gun was found in a routine stop. Thank God they had my note. The gun was confiscated and later returned, but these young guys learned a very serious lesson. This was in 1964. These guys learned some serious lessons and were very fortunate to avoid more serious consequences.
I'm sure we could all tell stories in an attempt to outdo one another. I left norther Minnesota on an ice fishing trip with a bunch of guys from work. We had a lot of gear. Friend asked if he could throw a bag in the back of my Jeep "Sure" I said. We crossed into Canada and the Officer asked if I had anything to declare, not me I said. May I check you're bags, "Certainly". The first bag he opened was the one the guy threw in my Jeep. OOOPPPS, full of booze, 'YOU'RE UNDER ARREST" WHAT?????? I DIDN'T KNOW......... Long story short, we were all allowed to proceed, except that I'm in the Canadian data base as a smuggler. I'll never cross that border again.
The whole point here is simple, THINK, THINK, THINK.
Thanks to Mexico. We need to praise them for being so kind to the U.S.A., and one of our soldiers!
It's okay for the U.S.A. to take on 20+ million of their people and take care of them.
It's okay for the Mexicans to come to our country and break our laws. They feel we shouldn't have laws!
It's okay for the Mexicans to come to our country and take our jobs.
It's okay for the Mexicans to come to our country and get treated great in our prisons (that's if they get arrested or caught).
But, we can't go to their country and break THEIR LAWS, or we go to prison!
THERE IS SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE. WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT THAT THIS MAN WASN'T FREED WITHIN 24 HOURS?
WHY AREN'T WE SHIPPING THEIR TRASH BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY BY THE MILLIONS??????
I GUESS MEXICO HAS SURPASSED THE U.S.A. ALL THE WAY AROUND.
MEXICO IS NOW BETTER THAN THE U.S.A.
THEY ARE DEFINITELY SMARTER! THEY DEMAND THAT YOU RESPECT THEIR LAWS.
So, your mad because he got caught?
"Got caught" implies he tried to sneak the gun in... you know, the way the illegals sneak into the US. That wasn't the case. He openly declared the gun, to both the US and the Mexican Border Control agents, in an attempt to register the gun.
Reading comprehension not your forte, huh?
We could use this as an excuse to invade Mexico.
Probably not a bad idea.
Should it be okay then for Mexicans to come into this country with rifles and guns and say "We want to register these guns because we want to hunt birds"? Get real, people. With all the gun violence along the Mexican border, I am not surprised he was detained. What was wrong, and I think illegal and unforgiveable, was the poor guy being held (detained) for so many months. The wheels of justice turn very slowly, even in this country. Stop being racists, my friends, and look and the whole picture "objectively"!
You're kidding, right?
The Mexicans who come into this country don't come legally... for the most part, let alone come with guns and rifles they want to register to hunt birds with.
The two aren't even comparable.
And no, he should not have tried to take the gun into Mexico, but when he openly gave it to the Border Patrol in an attempt to register it for hunting there, they should have just refused him entry to the country and turned him around back to the States.
Arresting him and throwing him in prison for five months makes them an ass.
evidently are comander in chief couldn't be troubled to help out an american citizen
Now he needs to help the criminals?
He's helping over 18 million of them from Mexico, what the hell's wrong with him helping one from the US?
Hey Daniel:
No one is a racist here!
We are fed up with our government not enforcing our laws, and the Mexicans and every other country enforces their laws to the fullist!
Everyone can see that America is a laughing stock!
I feel the U.S. citizens are fed up, and thank God that this soldier was released.
What is it with you libs that you ALWAYS pull the race card. This doesn't have anything to do with race, but it's how Mexico can and will enforce their laws, but the U.S.A. CAN'T & WON'T ENFORCE OUR LAWS!
So, you're a not a racist? Sure
What's racist about anything Debi said? And be specific, please.
12/19/12
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2046355501001/why-isnt-obama-trying-to-secure-the-release-of-jon-hammar-/
12/20/2012
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2048562312001/when-will-the-president-help-jon-hammar/
More fox bull@!$%#?
Mexico is even more corrupt than we are if thats possible! He was being held for ransom but our news media isn't reporting that. I wouldn't ever go down there. Even their own citizens leave when they can!
Z Mann - you are nothing but a pig, and you are the idiot! God help you for your stupidity, and lack of understanding what most people are trying to say here.
Oh, and of course, you've got to bring Fox News into this because you are a stinking, liberal ahole that doesn't care that we have laws and rules, too, but ours are made to be broken on a daily basis by their citizens!
Hmmmmm! Stupid is, is stupid does! Why don't you and your family move to Mexico where they enforce their rules? Isn't that what you said, and I quote "rules"?
the true Americans citizens needs to jail all illegal mexicans. More mexicans means more drugs & crimes. The people should act especially those at the border.
Washington and Colorado just served a sever blow to the mexican drug cartels-we legalized pot. The rest of the country needs to follow suite. We need to pull out of Afghan and let the taliban take over and burn the poppy fields there. Cocaine and meth (a lot of it anyway)? Yeah, we still need to secure the border for that one, if we DO bring our guys home from Afghan-there you go. That is how I would deal with the drug war.
About time Jon is out of Mexico and none too soon. Mexico has a lot to talk about with their corrupt and disfuntional system and they have to take it out of someone that tried to follow the rules ... cut them off. Typical, Obama, Hillary, DOJ and others just sitting on their hands when it suits them. Typical. Continual Excuses and blaming Bush of everthing, F&F, constant self-grandizing self, calling Fluke because she cannot pay her birth control while going to an expensive school, Obama and his beer summit and racial healing, his flying around endlessly for himself to compain and vacation along with their entourage and so on. Obama's administration is a bunch of fools and incapable of commonsense. They cared Nothing about Benghazi and made excuses and Still incapable of transparency and honesty ... Obama is a lier in 2008 and 2012 to get himself elected, and he has No idea how to work with others and comprimise ... He has even said it is way or no way at all ... Creep!!! Not until there is an uproar do they do anything. Now he is on to Hawaii for vacation with who knows whoever else on Our Taxes ... He just wanted to be in the WH so he can spend to his hearts content and Not pay a dime for him and his family to spend, live high while so many are in pain, deperation, loss .... Obama does it All the time so it sure is no surprise ... he cares only about himself. Thank you ObamaNation lovers.
Wow a US citizen imprisoned for carrying a rifle and actually took it to Police to register it. Look at all the illegal firearms Mexican criminals have; you would think they would be more interested in keep their people from leaving their country illegally? I am amazed at the stupidity of the Mexican government. Is right up their with ours.
Jail the Marine for trying to do the right thing, but when Mexican illegals enter our country. they give birth in our country, take our jobs, etc. Screw that third world country and all its illegals. I would never spend a penny in that miserable place.
This article is very poorly written and does not present the facts. He took the weapon into Mexico and went to inform them and obtain the necessary documentation and was placed under arrest. According to the earlier article that I read -he had researched the issue and did was he was told to do. Those of you basing your judgement on this article simply do not have all of the facts. While we get innundated with millions of illegal Mexicans that we coddle - they treat one of our veterans like crap. I say "k Mexico. And if you don't like it then same to you.
Thanks a lot Obama and Clinton for not lifting a finger to help this Marine out. You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
so are the two men back in the USA now, and the winnabego and the antique rifle that was his grandfathers?
Thank God for Bill O'Reilly and Fox news for bringing the story to the fore front of the news, the other net works did their best to not report the story .
I always take a rifle with me when I want to shoot birds from skateboard in a foreign country, what's the problem with that?
O'Reilly put the pressure on the politicans to get this guy released.