The Navy investigation into a San Diego Navy SEAL accused of having ties to extremists concluded the sailor didn’t violate Pentagon rules against participation in extremist activity, according to a Navy official with knowledge of the investigation.
The official is not authorized to comment publicly on the case.
The Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado launched an investigation into Chief Special Warfare Operator Bryce Henson in November. The SEAL spent more than a year prior speaking at rallies, city councils and school boards — first against Critical Race Theory then against LGBTQ+ student rights.
Photos and videos from several events showed Henson in the company of alleged members of the Proud Boys, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group.
Henson was also photographed alongside a man with a large Nazi eagle tattoo on his head and swastika tattoo on his arm during two separate Santee anti-LGBTQ+ rallies in January 2023.
He was featured in a Los Angeles Times investigation into the coordinated conservative actions at Southern California school boards in October.
The Navy’s investigation into Henson was finished in mid-January, the Navy official said. Although Henson was cleared of extremism allegations the investigator did find the SEAL engaged in threatening behavior, according to the official.
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — military law — communicating threats is punishable under Article 115.
It’s not clear what threats the Navy’s investigation reviewed and the official did not say. But on Jan. 25 — after the investigation was complete — Henson took to Instagram to share a video of himself shooting guns.
“Since certain people leaked my work history to the press,” Henson wrote in the video’s caption, “I guess I’ll share my skill sets with my friends in hopes to spread awareness of exercising our 2nd Amendment rights safely and legally. …”
The video features Henson, in his Navy uniform, giving basic gun safety instructions and shooting.
Henson shared another video speculating on the identity of an anonymous Instagram user who runs an account called “TheChartyB.” The person running the account maintains a website that charts connections between several right-wing groups and figures prominently in the Southern California anti-LGBTQ+ school board movement.
Henson is featured in the chart.
In the second video, Henson incorrectly identified San Diego journalist Brooke Binkowski as the person behind TheChartyB.
Binkowski covers disinformation and previously worked for fact-checking news sites. She said people only threaten journalists when they’re doing a good job.
“Despite what far-right activists think, I am not the same person as the one running TheChartyB,” Binkowski wrote in a statement. “However, I do believe the threats … are an attempt to abrogate and interfere with my 1st Amendment rights and a threat to the public’s right to a free press.”
Henson also sent a direct message to TheChartyB on Instagram telling them to “show their face.”
Just past midnight on Jan. 26, Henson sent his shooting video to TheChartyB in an Instagram DM and wrote, “share with your friends.”
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