Republican Changing Story About Getting Shot Raises Eyebrows

Tim Sheehy, Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate, on Sunday raised eyebrows across social media after changing his story about getting shot.

Sheehy, a first-time candidate, is a former Navy SEAL who received former President Donald Trump's endorsement back in February as he vies for Democratic Senator Jon Tester's seat. Since launching his campaign, Sheehy has widely shared a story about him being shot while deployed, but there have been inconsistent accounts of the story he has told, according to The Washington Post.

In a campaign video in December, Sheehy cited a gunshot wound he received in combat that he said left a bullet in his right arm as evidence of his toughness. "I got thick skin — though it's not thick enough. I have a bullet stuck in this arm still from Afghanistan," he said.

However, according to a record filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, after a family visit to Montana's Glacier National Park, Sheehy told a National Park Service ranger in October 2015, more than a year after he left active duty, that he accidentally shot himself in the right arm that day when his Colt .45 revolver fell and discharged while he was loading his vehicle in the park.

According to a citation given to the Senate hopeful for illegally discharging his weapon in a national park, the self-inflicted gunshot left a bullet lodged in Sheehy's right forearm. The citation said the description was based on Sheehy's account of events.

However, when recently asked about the citation, which has not been previously reported on, Sheehy told The Washington Post on Sunday that the statement he gave the ranger in 2015 was a lie.

Sheehy told the newspaper that he made up the story about the gun going off to protect himself and his former platoon mates from facing a potential military investigation into an old bullet wound that he said he got in Afghanistan in 2012, adding that he was not sure whether the wound was the result of friendly fire or from enemy ammunition and as a result he never reported the incident to his superiors.

Sheehy clarified that the telling of events to the ranger was not due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but when he fell and hurt himself on a hike, resulting in a trip to the hospital where he told hospital staff he had a bullet in his arm—prompting the interview with the ranger.

"I guess the only thing I'm guilty of is admitting to doing something I never did," Sheehy told The Washington Post of paying a $525 fine for illegally discharging his weapon in the national park.

When asked about his platoon mates, he added, "it was a small price to pay to make sure that a whole team of really great Americans didn't get dragged through the mud over this."

In a statement emailed to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Sheehy reiterated: "The bullet in Tim's arm was a result of his service in Afghanistan. Tim never reported it because he didn't want to trigger an investigation of his team, be pulled from the battlefield, and see a fellow teammate be punished. It was always about protecting a fellow team member of his unit he thought could have been responsible due to friendly fire ricochet in the heat of an engagement with the enemy."

Meanwhile, Sheehy's changed account of events left some on X, formerly Twitter, with questions.

Conservative lawyer George Conway wrote on X, "Let those among you who have not lied about lying about shooting yourselves in the arm in a national park in order to cover up not faking a combat wound—or something like that, I can't quite figure it out—cast the first stone."

X user and author D. Earl Stephens wrote, "So the dude doesn't know where he is getting shot, who's doing it, or if he's even getting shot at all. If this is confusing you it should, because apparently that's how this SOB wants it. Basically we know this: He's completely full of s***, and his story will probably change again by tomorrow. I'm not kidding you, every damn Republican who runs for anything in this country is a damn liar."

Former Montana legislator and candidate for Congress Tom Winter wrote on X, "So has Tim Sheehy admitted that (in that particular tourist-in-Montana way, you know the ones) he had an unsecured, loaded gun just rolling around the back of the family car on a road trip through Glacier Park 'because of the bears'? What other dumb**** reason could there be?"

In the statement emailed to Newsweek, Sheehy's spokesperson added: "To witness the media in cahoots with Jon Tester and his allies attempting to tear down a combat veteran's record is appalling, and they should be ashamed of themselves. It shows just how desperate they are to win this U.S. Senate race. Jon Tester doesn't care about veterans and their sacrifices; he only cares about another term in office."

In regards to possibly being charged with lying to National Park Service rangers, a lawyer for Sheehy, Daniel Watkins, told the newspaper that because no crime had taken place, Sheehy did not impede or obstruct a law enforcement investigation.

Sheehy's changed account comes as Republicans believe he's their best bet to win the Montana seat.

However, Tester and Sheehy are locked in a tight race, according to a March poll. An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey found that when Montana voters were asked about a hypothetical Senate match-up between Tester and Sheehy, 44 percent backed Tester, while 42 percent supported Sheehy. Fourteen percent of respondents said they were undecided.

Last month's poll highlights a slight contrast from October when a similar survey showed Tester with 39 percent support and Sheehy with 35 percent, with 21 percent of respondents undecided.

Update 04/09/24, 5:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Sheehy's spokesperson.