One military wife whose husband was imprisoned abroad is calling out President Joe Biden.
U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, who was recently released by Japanese authorities following his imprisonment on charges related to his role in a car crash on Mount Fuji in 2021, is now being forced to see out the rest of his sentence back in America, the New York Times reported.
In an interview with Fox News, Alkonis’ wife, Brittany Alkonis, cited the view of Alkonosis’s commanding officer that he was not at fault for the deaths and should be allowed to “receive his promotion [and] continue on with his career.”
During his trial, neurologists for his defense team argued that the tragedy occurred after he suddenly passed out from Acute Mountain Sickness caused by a rapid change in altitude.
Alkonis was safely returned to the U.S. last week following reported interventions from Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, although he was immediately booked into a federal prison in Los Angeles.
Now, Brittany Alkonis is accusing the administration of “appeasing Japan” as opposed to “providing justice” for her husband.
When asked by anchor Dana Perino about whether Biden should commute his sentence, Brittany Alkonis said it was “his choice alone.”
“I cannot say that — that is up to the president’s discretion,” she said. “It is his choice alone.”
This is a story that should not go unnoticed.
Watch the clip below to hear what Ridge’s wife, Brittany Alkonis, shared with me on @AmericaNewsroom earlier today: https://t.co/aV28d4UCdH
— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) December 19, 2023
Should Lt. Ridge Alkonis be released?
Brittany Alkonis, who lives in Utah, described how she and her children wish they could spend Christmas with their father.
“He could be home in time for Christmas,” she explained. “When I was driving my kids home from their grandparents’ house last night, they sat in the backseat, commiserating over repeated nightmares that they have.”
“And the [nightmares] all have to do with Ridge not coming home, with their dad dying in prison before he comes home.”
“It’s unacceptable, and it’s unnecessary. He could be home today if the U.S. government wanted him to.”
Among those to speak out in defense of Alkonis has been Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who argued in a speech last year on the Senate floor that it was “nothing short of inexcusable that an American who experienced a medical emergency should be treated so poorly by an Allied nation that he’s protecting.”
“Clearly the Japanese judicial system is trying to make an example of Lt. Alkonis — perhaps stemming from a history of disputes over our Status of Forces Agreement,” Lee warned at the time.
“He is being targeted because he is an American and because he was in the unfortunate position of having suffered a medical emergency that resulted in tragedy.”
