More news on Patrick Haab (bad this time)

Way back in April, during the initial Minuteman Project activity in Arizona, I posted this article about Patrick Haab, an Army reservist and apparent veteran of Iraq, who performed a citizen's arrest of 7 illegal aliens. Now this turns up:

When Patrick Haab was arrested in April for holding seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint at an Arizona rest stop, the Army reservist described himself as an Iraq war veteran and used that status to generate financial support and sympathy from around the country.

But military records obtained Tuesday by The Arizona Republic show that Haab never served in Iraq and indicate that he was on the verge of being removed from the military because he was paranoid, threatened to kill himself and pulled a knife in an altercation with fellow soldiers.

In February 2004, Haab was removed from his unit in Kuwait, the records show, after he reportedly told a commanding officer during an Arabic cultural awareness class that he 'just wants to kill all of the camel jockeys,' including a Muslim soldier in his own unit.

As a result of that incident and an apparent suicide attempt moments later, Haab was transferred back to the United States for a mental health evaluation at Fort Bragg and Walter Reed Medical Center, records state.

The records are in stark contrast to the picture Haab painted of himself at the time of his arrest: a dedicated and meritorious soldier who just wanted to return to duty.

Deceptive, yes. But one fact remains: he performed a justified citizen's arrest of 7 people who had crossed into this country illegally. He may have lied about himself, but the arrest was just, in my opinion, and in this instance, he did nothing wrong.