Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

OnlinePoker

(5,725 posts)
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 03:13 PM Apr 19

Russell Bentley, Texan pro-Putin fighter and Russian propagandist found decapitated in Russian-controlled Donetsk

Texan Russell Bentley was found decapitated in Petrovskiy district of Donetsk (temporary occupied territory of Ukraine) at 10 AM, 14 April 2024.

Beside his beheaded corpse were found Bentley’s passport with registration in Donetsk, Makarov pistol, credit cards and his wallet.

He used to fight for the pro-Russian militia battalion “Vostok”.

https://russiavsworld.org/russell-bentley-texan-pro-putin-fighter-and-russian-propagandist-found-decapitated-in-russian-controlled-donetsk/

--------------------------------------

A couple of days ago, it was reported he was kidnapped by Russian troops. FAFO in action.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-fan-russell-bentley-abducted-in-ukraineallegedly-by-russian-troops

12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Russell Bentley, Texan pro-Putin fighter and Russian propagandist found decapitated in Russian-controlled Donetsk (Original Post) OnlinePoker Apr 19 OP
Guess being pro-Russian wasn't good enough The Unmitigated Gall Apr 19 #1
Pro-ukranian bloggers claim it was russian forces getagrip_already Apr 19 #2
Background: Putin-Loving Texas Man Abducted in Eastern Ukraine--Allegedly by Russian Troops emulatorloo Apr 19 #3
We should send Turbineguy Apr 19 #4
They'e just the people to investigate Hekate Apr 19 #6
Finally proving once and for all that the MAGA mindset... Hugin Apr 19 #5
He was a socialist/communist in the US and has been in Russia since Dec 2014 LeftInTX Apr 19 #7
I said the "MAGA mindset"... Hugin Apr 19 #8
He wanted to be popular. Got his wish! lindysalsagal Apr 19 #9
"Beheaded for the last roundup" oasis Apr 19 #10
I see what you did there. Brother Buzz Apr 19 #12
He probably thought he could behave the same way there as he does here JI7 Apr 19 #11

getagrip_already

(14,825 posts)
2. Pro-ukranian bloggers claim it was russian forces
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 03:37 PM
Apr 19

Apparently he just became too drunk and too obnoxious for even the Russians to put up with, and he had gotten so fat and out of shape he was a danger to his unit.

So they took out the trash.

Anyway. Tomorrow is Saturday. Big vote for ukraine.

emulatorloo

(44,176 posts)
3. Background: Putin-Loving Texas Man Abducted in Eastern Ukraine--Allegedly by Russian Troops
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 03:51 PM
Apr 19

Putin-Loving Texas Man Abducted in Eastern Ukraine—Allegedly by Russian Troops

FAFO?
Russell Bentley’s wife says he was snatched by Russian soldiers, and now his friends are trying to debunk rumors of his “suspicious” activities.

Allison Quinn
News Editor
Updated Apr. 17, 2024 2:39PM EDT

https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-fan-russell-bentley-abducted-in-ukraineallegedly-by-russian-troops

The tragicomic tale of a down-on-his-luck Texan who reinvented himself as a renegade war hero in a fake Russian republic took an unexpected turn this week when he was allegedly abducted by Russian troops—after apparently being accused of being a CIA spy.

Russell Bentley, also known as “Texas,” is perhaps the last person one would expect to have pulled off cunning spycraft for the nearly 10 years he’s been living among Russian fighters in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region. A Dallas native with a conviction on drug charges back home, Bentley briefly seized international headlines back in 2014 when he was spotted in a cowboy hat with Russian fighters and spewing Kremlin propaganda about “Nazis” in Ukraine. He obtained Russian citizenship in 2020 after remodeling himself as a combat-vet-turned-“journalist” for Kremlin-controlled media.

News of his disappearance earlier this month largely went under the radar until his wife, Lyudmila Bentley, went public Tuesday with claims he’d been snatched and taken hostage by Russian troops.
“Russell was brutally detained on April 8,” Lyudmila Bentley wrote in a statement on Telegram. “I CALL ON EVERYONE to do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to save my husband, our ‘Texas,’” she said, describing him as a “friend of Donbass and Russia.” “Perhaps, there is not much time,” she said.

Russian propagandists have claimed Bentley vanished after approaching the site of recent shelling or mortar strikes, and one independent Russian news site said he’d been taking pictures of the damaged buildings. That detail led to a flurry of conspiracy theories about Bentley potentially being a mole.


Hugin

(33,189 posts)
5. Finally proving once and for all that the MAGA mindset...
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 04:29 PM
Apr 19

Produces the most obnoxious fuckers in the World. USA!

QED

LeftInTX

(25,526 posts)
7. He was a socialist/communist in the US and has been in Russia since Dec 2014
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 04:36 PM
Apr 19

In 1990, Bentley moved to Minneapolis. Initially working as a lumberjack, he found it easier to sell marijuana instead. He became a marijuana activist, joining the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the pro-legalization Grassroots Party. At age 30, he ran as a U.S. Senate third-party candidate for the Grassroots Party in the 1990 election, gathering 1.65% of the vote. In the mid 1990s, Bentley would also visit communist Cuba, where he was convinced to switch from being a socialist into a communist.[3][4] In February 1996, Bentley's house was raided by the police and he was arrested for felony trafficking. He received a sentence of 5 years and 3 months. Although he was supposed to be released at the end of 1999, in August 1999, Bentley escaped from prison. He lived as a fugitive until 2007, when he was captured and sent to a maximum-security prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison the following summer.[3][4]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/us-citizen-dead-russia-separatists-ukraine

JI7

(89,262 posts)
11. He probably thought he could behave the same way there as he does here
Fri Apr 19, 2024, 05:32 PM
Apr 19

There are many Americans that don't understand things work very differently in other places than here (and similar nations).

He might have been pro Putin but they are still expected to behave in certain ways. And it was too much for him and he wanted to leave .

Or he got into some other argument . Even just complaining could be trouble there.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Russell Bentley, Texan pr...