Brother of Marine killed in Afghanistan withdrawal commits suicide at memorial for fallen soldier



The older brother of a U.S. Marine who was killed during the tumultuous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last August has reportedly committed suicide at the memorial for the fallen soldier.

On Aug. 26, 2021, a suicide bombing killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan citizens during the U.S. evacuation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

One of the American soldiers murdered was Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, from Norco, California.

Fox News reported that Nikoui's older brother – 28-year-old Dakota Halverson – "died by suicide during a recent memorial service for the fallen service member."

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said that Dakota Halverson died on Aug. 9, but did not provide more details.

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) reacted to the tragic news, "Every service member we lose leaves behind a hole in their families, their communities, and our nation. The 13 heroes we lost last year in Afghanistan are no different, and I’m heartbroken to hear about the loss of Dakota. My prayers are with his family."

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla) stated, "The older brother of one of the 13 KIA in Kabul recently killed himself at his little brother’s memorial. Please pray for his family. There MUST be accountability for this continued carnage."

Townhall writer Julio Rosas shared a Facebook post from Shana Chappell – the mother of the two deceased men.

"The month of August has been very hard so far with the one year coming up," Chappell wrote. "I look at my kids as strong and like they can handle anything. That was my mistake."

"My son Dakota has been talking a lot lately about how he just wants to be with Kareem, how much he misses him, etc.... We all feel that way so I didn't see the signs," she continued.

"This morning my son Dakota went to be with His brother Kareem," Chappell announced.

\u201cHeartbreaking: Shana Chappell, who lost her son LCpl. Kareem Nikoui in the attack during the Afghanistan evacuation last year, announced her son Dakota died this morning. Link to the GoFundMe she set up: https://t.co/bLWPpFgHty \n\n#SuicideAwareness\u201d
— Julio Rosas (@Julio Rosas) 1660098287

A GoFundMe campaign was launched for donations towards Halverson's funeral.

"Dakota Halverson was a loving son, brother, and friend," the description of the crowdfunding campaign read. "Losing his brother nearly one year ago has proven too difficult to bear."

"Any donations for his burial and services would be greatly appreciated as he wanted to be buried next to his brother Kareem, who was killed August 26th, 2021, while serving his country," the listing said.

Chappell has been an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden and the deadly U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan that took the life of her son.

Last August, Chappell bashed Biden after meeting with the president.

Chappell slammed Biden in a Facebook post, "MY SONS BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS!!! All 13 of them, their blood is on your hands!!!! If my President Trump was in his rightful seat then my son and the other [heroes] would still be alive!!!!"

Veteran, 73 — who survived two Vietnam tours with Marines — dies after carjackers repeatedly punch him in the head outside his favorite grocery store



Veteran Keith Cooper loved his grandchildren, science fiction, jazz music — and was just a week away from his 74th birthday when horror struck him and his family, WLS-TV reported.

What happened?

Cooper — who survived two tours of duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Marines — was outside his favorite grocery store in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when police said two strangers approached him, the station reported.

The pair — an adult and a juvenile, a source told WLS — demanded Cooper's car and then repeatedly punched him in the head. Cooper's daughter told the station that the beating caused a heart attack that killed him.

The station said witnesses who helped fight off the two attackers also helped police track them down. A source noted to WLS that two people are now in police custody.

But Cooper's family is now left trying to make sense out of the senseless tragedy, the station said.

"I just don't understand it," Curtis Carlton, Cooper's son-in-law, told WLS. "Broad daylight, he comes here all the time, we all shop here. They tried to steal his car. They didn't even get his car, and they took his life."

Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot

Keinika Carlton, Cooper's daughter, told the station that there was an upcoming trip with her dad in the works. Now she has other plans.

"He had specific instructions for his final arrangements, so I just need to carry those out," she told WLS.

'A bonus dad'

Curtis Carlton told the station that Cooper "was like a bonus dad. He was my father-in-law, but he was like a dad. He was the best. Keith was the best."

Keinika Carlton said her dad "loved his family" and was "just all-around fun person to be around."

Image source: WLS-TV video screenshot

Anything else?

Fox News said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office did not immediately return its request for comment on Cooper's death.

More from the cable network:

Carjackings in Chicago have increased in recent years, with 2020 seeing a 135% spike compared to 2019, from 603 carjackings in 2019 to 1,416 in 2020.

The crime has spilled over into 2021, with one particularly violent 24-hour span last month seeing at least five carjackings. Chicago police Supt. David Brown responded to the recent increase by adding 40 officers and four sergeants to a carjacking task force in January.

Marines backtrack after huge fallout for attacking Tucker Carlson: 'Unit is currently reviewing their internal procedures'



The U.S. Marine Corps is walking back a now-viral social media post in which an official Marine Twitter account attacked Fox News host Tucker Carlson over his remarks in recent report on military leadership.

What's a very brief history here?

On Thursday, Carlson discussed the Pentagon and its apparent priorities after it announced its new creation — flight suits for pregnant women.

Last week, President Joe Biden made new uniforms accommodations for women serving in the military.

Carlson said that the announcement was interesting, considering the ongoing tensions between China and the United States.

In response to Carlson's remarks, the II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group blasted Carlson in several since-deleted Twitter posts on Friday.

One said, "What it looks like in today's armed forces @TuckerCarlson. Get right before you get left, boomer."

The tweet accompanied a photo of a female soldier carrying another female soldier.

In a second post, the account demanded a person who defended Carlson to "come back when you've served and been pregnant."

What are the details?

A spokesperson for the Marines told the Washington Examiner that the posts were not "executed according to the standards of decorum."

"The unit is currently reviewing their internal procedures for social media posts," the spokesperson revealed. "While the post was intended to show support for women in the military, it was not executed according to the standards of decorum expected on the Marine Corps' social media platforms."

Anything else?

Following the social media post, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) blasted the move as "unconscionable," as previously reported by Blaze Media.

"Unconscionable that active duty military members — in uniform and from official military social media platforms — have leveled personal political attacks on a media figure," Crawford said. "This is no longer the same military my grandfather, my father, my uncles, my brothers, and I served."

Former Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.) added, "These political tweets to a civilian from official accounts, one from a senior enlisted in official uniform at official command are absolutely unacceptable & appalling. Marines need to be held accountable & there needs to be a @USMC wide message against this."

"As a female Marine that served in II MEF, this attack on a reporter's free speech from an official account is completely unacceptable," added Michele Perez Exner, who works for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also wrote an impassioned memo to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday in which he demanded to meet with Marine Commandant David H. Berger over the inflammatory statements.

"Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions," Cruz wrote. "Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign. I've demanded a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put a stop to it."

Immediately following the criticism, the Twitter account deleted the offending tweets and apologized.

The apology said, "We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets."

@BillFOXLA We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to suppor… https://t.co/pr4LR6yydQ
— II MEF Information Group (@II MEF Information Group)1615672969.0