A former Park Service ranger alleged on Friday that Montana U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has been dishonest about a bullet wound he claimed to have received while fighting in Afghanistan. The ranger, Kim Peach, claimed that Sheehy actually shot himself on a family trip in Montana. Sheehy and his supporters dismissed Peach’s accusation as a smear campaign orchestrated by Democrats in a closely contested Senate race.
Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, has made his military service a focal point of his campaign against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester. He has recounted being wounded in combat multiple times, including sustaining an arm injury in 2012, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
Despite facing scrutiny over the arm wound since April, when reports surfaced of him accidentally shooting himself in 2015, Sheehy maintains that he did not lie about being wounded in Afghanistan. He explained that he fabricated the story of the bullet wound to cover up a potential friendly fire incident in 2012 to protect his SEAL unit members.
With the election looming, Peach decided to come forward with his account, stating that he couldn’t let Sheehy deceive people without revealing the truth. He claimed to have interviewed Sheehy at the hospital where he was treated for the bullet wound, and Sheehy admitted to the accidental discharge of his firearm in Glacier National Park.
Peach, a retired park ranger, denied any affiliation with the Tester campaign or other Democratic groups. He clarified that his motivation for speaking out was solely to disclose the truth about Sheehy’s injury.
Tester’s campaign has been running ads criticizing Sheehy for his alleged dishonesty, while the Montana Democratic Party seized on Peach’s statements as a firsthand account of the incident. However, the National Republican Senatorial Committee dismissed the accusations against Sheehy as a desperate move by Democrats fearing Tester’s potential defeat.