The conservative group that advertised an opportunityto pay $50,000 for “machine gun fun” with the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden is now walking back their offer.
Apparently Robert O’Neill, the Navy SEAL credited with killing the al Qaeda leader in 2011, never saw the invitation before it was sent out by ForAmerica and eventually acquired by the Washington Post. ForAmerica is a not-for-profit corporation that backs conservative movements and used O’Neill in a fundraising letter to supporters.
Although O’Neill was willing to participate in sport shooting with those who chose to dish out $50,000 for a swanky weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he never offered to use machine guns.
And it seems O’Neill was so unhappy about the letter that Brent Bozell, ForAmerica’s chairman, had to issue a statement to apologize for the miscue.
In an e-mail from a ForAmerica spokesman on Sunday, Bozell said he regretted the invitation that “described Mr. O’Neill in a way that is inconsistent with the high standards he applies when he characterizes the service of Navy SEALS to our country.”
“There will be no machine guns involved; this is strictly a sport shooting event,” Bozell added.
His team “got a little ahead of itself putting out the invitation to enjoy a weekend of sport shooting with American hero Rob O’Neill,” the statement said.
And to top it off, Bozell described the fundraising event as an opportunity to honor O’Neill’s service to the United States.
O’Neill, who is retired from active duty, is the co-founder of Your Grateful Nation, a non-profit that helps transition Special Operations veterans back into their communities.
“It is our intention to introduce Rob to a whole new community of supporters to advance his tremendous charity work to help his military brothers and sisters,” Bozell said.
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