by Guest Writer Kelly Wilde
Billy Chrestman is a 48-year-old family man, former Proud Boy and Army combat medic still being held under inhumane and unconstitutional conditions in the DC jail a year after his arrest for participating at the rally on January 6th, 2021.
***Support Billy with his legal defense fund HERE.
He is not accused of committing any violence nor did he have any prior knowledge of the events that unfolded that day, yet he has been denied bond multiple times for 13 months. His unlawful incarceration has caused him to lose his house and has split up his family—including his wife, five children, and four grandchildren—into several different homes.
“I haven’t seen my dad’s face in 399 days,” Billy’s daughter told The Gateway Pundit. “Prison is so expensive and I still feel he isn’t getting enough food. He has lost a lot of weight.”
Billy’s family has always been his number one priority. “Not being able to pick up the phone and call him when I need him is breaking my heart,” his daughter said.
The strain Billy’s political imprisonment has put on his family pushed his mother Susan to write an open letter to the American people (see full letter below). She talks about the shock and awe of watching her son—a good man with a clean record and a Combat veteran—be held in solitary confinement away from his family for over a year by the Biden Regime for nothing more than political offense.
***Please support Billy in his legal battle.
His mother’s words are a reminder that over a year later, the impunity of a politicized DOJ is destroying more innocent lives in the periphery, as the hardly culpable still rot behind bars.
Her letter is published in full below.
To the American People,
It all started as we watched in disbelief the election results roll in for the 2020 election. Something unimaginable was happening. Poll watchers were being removed from the counting, boxes of ballet’s were retrieved from under covered tables. Then the announcement came in.
Biden was our new President with 85 million votes! It was impossible, President Trump had such a lead, what happened? As more allegations and speculations came forth our family was quickly losing hope.
My son, Billy Chrestman was a veteran from the Army where he served as a medic. He took an oath; “I, William Chrestman, swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” This oath has no expiration date.
Billy wanted to see President Trump’s “Stop The Steal” rally. He felt our Constitution was being threatened. He went to Washington, DC on January 6th to attend the rally and then see the Capital as was his right as a US citizen. He felt an obligation to his country and the oath that he had sworn. Billy hurt no one, he didn’t vandalize or cause harm in any way. He saw a protester fighting with an officer. Billy pulled him off and told him “we weren’t there to hurt anyone!”
He just wanted to bring attention to an unjust election. He returned home broken hearted and fearful of what was to become of his beloved America.
On February 11, 2021 at 5 am the FBI stormed his home. Using flash bombs, bull horns and tactical gear, they frightened the neighborhood children. Luckily his then six-year-old daughter didn’t witness this horror. Billy was arrested and hauled away. Initially he was granted bail by the Federal Magistrate after he was found not to be a threat to the public and not a flight risk. A woke, activist Federal Judge, Beryl Howell from Washington, DC revoked the very thought of bail!
This judge made a statement that she wanted all Federal judges to be hard on the so-called“insurrectionists”. Billy has been sitting in the DC Gulag for over a year. No bail, no haircuts, no shaves, no nail clipping, no visits (even from his children), no attorney contact, no trial date. They are locked down 22 hours per day.
Billy’s daughter, now seven years old, has not seen her daddy in over a year! She is having frequent “meltdowns”, she blames herself. She cries all the time, afraid that she will never see her daddy again. For some reason she blames herself for the arrest of her father. If she had just behaved better, tried harder this wouldn’t have happened.
She is taking all of the blame on her little shoulders. She told me she doesn’t deserve anything good. That she doesn’t deserve to live! The change in her was so pronounced that it was noticed by her teacher who, with her mother’s permission, arranged a psychiatrist to come to the school weekly to help her work through her sorrow and guilt. It doesn’t matter how often we tell her it’s not her fault. She has taken all the responsibility. A year ago, she was a confident, exuberant, carefree, happy child. A delight. It is heart- breaking to see the change and damage this experience has caused. Due to this excessive treatment of the J6 detainees Billy has lost his home. This caused added torment for his young daughter. She now has no daddy and her family home is gone. She cries that she didn’t get to say goodbye to her daddy or her house! She is frightened that she will never see him again. As a mother and a grandmother this has broken my heart.
My sweet granddaughter will never be the same again. Police frighten her, after all they took her daddy away! How can you console a child that everything will be alright when you don’t understand what was done yourself? A bail fund promoted by our Vice President Kamala Harris helped to release George Howard, who was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. Why does the Vice President of our United States of America give money to bail out Antifa and BLM when they murder, burn, riot, destroy police stations and court houses but condone the treatment of the J6 detainees? What has happened to our justice system? What has happened to our country?
As a veteran, Billy is supposed to be meeting with a Veterans Representative weekly. After sitting in the DC Gulag for over a year he has had zero meetings. There is black mold in the cells, backed up toilets that take weeks to be fixed, some cells have no running water.
The guards treat these men like scum! There is absolutely no presumption of innocence. Some of the captives (because that is what they are) are beaten and then are denied medical attention. But throughout this great injustice what do these brave men do? Every night at 9 pm Eastern time, they all go to their cell doors and sing The National Anthem! (Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all sing at 9 pm Eastern time to show solidarity?) Some nights the guards try to drown out the singing by screaming “Fuck America” over and over. Great, we pay their salaries with our tax dollars. The Christian detainees then get together for prayer saying “The Our Father”. They have not given up on America.
Billy has lost his home, his job, lost some family, lost friends and lost irretrievable time in his children’s lives. He missed one of his daughter’s graduation. Even death row inmates get shaves and haircuts, have visits with family and friends and most important of all have contact with their attorneys. This brings to mind the treatment of the Uyghurs people in China. I never thought I would see such treatment in the United States. How can our great United States treat its citizens in such a manner?
I thank God that Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to bring attention to this situation. After repeated attempts she was finally allowed to visit the Gulag and talk with some of the detainees. Billy was able to give her a hug and personally thank her. She has seen the deplorable conditions that they are captive in. The horrible food that they are fed. She is trying to bring justice. I thank her!
Sincerely, A Broken-hearted Mother,
Susan Moser (Mom of Billy Chrestman Political Prisoner #376975)
With no trial date set and at the mercy of a leftist public defender, Billy is in desperate need of legal funds and his family is in need of support.
Please help Billy stay afloat in this troubled time of his life by donating to his GiveSendGo fundraiser HERE.
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Kelly Wilde is an activist and advocate for January 6th Detainees. She is a writer and volunteer for Citizens Against Political Persecution – check out the website www.CitizensApp.us. Contact Kelly with any tips or comments at [email protected].
