J.R. Majewski, Republican candidate for U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, takes the stage at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.
Tom E. Puskar/AP PH
Ohio GOP candidate J.R. Majewski’s military record is again coming into question.
According to The AP, Majewski was demoted because he drove under the influence in Japan.
The congressional candidate claimed he was deployed to Afghanistan with the US Air Force.
Embattled Ohio GOP candidate J.R. Majewski’s military record has once again come under scrutiny as new records revealed a more belligerent reason behind his demotion in the US military.
According to records reviewed by The Associated Press, Majewski was not demoted and unable to re-enlist due to a brawl, which he has previously said. Instead, he was caught drunk driving in an Okinawa, Japan Air Base, the records showed.
The records stated that on Sept. 8, 2001, Majewski was demoted to one position below his role – a role he stayed in through four years of service.
“You did, at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, on or about 8 September 2001, gate 2, physically control a vehicle, to wit: passenger car, while drunk,” the record said, later adding, “When you decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after indulging in intoxicating liquor you brought discredit upon yourself, 733rd Air Mobility Squadron, and the Air Force.”
Majewski’s campaign did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment. His campaign told the AP last week that he had been demoted for a brawl with a fellow servicemember.
“This mistake is now more than 20 years old. I’m sure we’ve all done something as young adults that we look back on and wonder ‘what was I thinking?’ and I’m sure our parents and grandparents share these sentiments,” Majewski told the AP on Wednesday.
He did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
In August, Insider first reported that Majewski had violated a federal law by disclosing his personal finances late in his race. And at a rally last Friday, Majewski responded to an Associated Press report which showed that he had lied about serving with the US Air Force in Afghanistan, saying that top-secret documents that only he has access to tell a different story.
“The orders and military records that I have been able to obtain from my personal files shows that all of my deployments are listed as classified,” Majewski told his supporters.