Exclusive: Prosecutors drop enhanced charges relating to deaths of Navy SEALs
Decision follows military investigation that found the deaths of Christopher Chambers and Nathan Ingram were preventable
Updated
Federal prosecutors have dropped enhanced charges related to the deaths of two Navy SEALs who drowned while attempting to board a Houthi dhow that was allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons.
A superseding indictment filed against four accused smugglers Wednesday in Richmond, Virginia, removed any reference to Christopher Chambers and Nathan Ingram, the two SEALs who died on Jan. 11 off the coast of Somalia.
Chambers, 37, lost his grip and fell into the water while attempting to board the dhow in 6- to 8-foot seas. Ingram, 27, jumped in to save him. Both men sank beneath the waves of the Arabian Sea within 47 seconds.
Enhanced charges relating to the death of the SEALs had been added to the indictment in August, but a military investigation released in October found that the deaths of the two SEALs were a tragic mishap that could have been prevented. Ch…