The veteran, SFC (Ret.) Jay Carey, who was shown in a viral video being escorted from an event for Rep. Chuck Edwards in Western North Carolina, says now is the time to fight for democracy.
By Jay Carey
Beacon Media
I spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, serving during both administrations of George W. Bush. I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan based on decisions made in secure rooms by experienced, qualified leaders who were advised by trusted military officials and national security experts. Our actions on the ground were driven by vetted intelligence, experience and common sense.
Today, those same life-and-death decisions are being made with less care and oversight than it takes to order takeout. Policies are being shaped not in secure briefings but in private group chats, encrypted apps, or even on social media platforms, driven by billionaires and political opportunists rather than seasoned public servants.
This isn’t politics as usual. This is dangerous.
Over the past few months, I’ve watched headlines roll in with a knot in my stomach. Cuts to vital veterans’ services. Mass layoffs of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ staff. Unelected power brokers unraveling programs that took decades to build, with no accountability to the American people. President Donald Trump, backed by the likes of Elon Musk, has allowed his political allies to gut federal agencies, including those that directly serve veterans and their families.
And politicians like my own representative, Chuck Edwards, stand by silently, or worse, cheer it on.
We’re talking about at least 6,000 laid off in recent weeks and thousands more that are expected, according to a tally kept by congressional Democrats cited by the Washington Post. People who served with honor. People who did their part.
And now they’re being thrown aside by a man who claims to be a patriot, and by elected officials who enable him. That’s not patriotism. That’s betrayal.
Like many veterans, I’m angry. So I did what any concerned citizen has a right to do. I went to a town hall earlier this spring and voiced my outrage to Rep. Edwards. I told the truth. I told him to do his job.
Instead of listening, he had me escorted out of the room by the police.
I am a retired, disabled combat veteran. I didn’t raise my voice in violence. I raised it in frustration. Because I know I’m not alone in feeling like this government has forgotten us.
I love this country. I have given my all for this country. My wife and I lost everything in Hurricane Helene, and we’re still rebuilding. And now, the benefits I earned through service are at risk, thanks to politicians like Edwards who refuse to stand up to Trump or the wealthy donors behind him.
Chuck Edwards has spent his time in office fighting against the expansion of Medicaid benefits, underfunding our public schools, and pushing policies that favor profits over people. Now, he’s helping dismantle critical federal institutions like the Department of Education, the Food and Drug Administration, and the IRS, all under the guise of “draining the swamp.”
In reality, they’re draining the lifelines of working-class Americans.
When Edwards, after tossing me out of the town hall, tried to discredit me by calling me a “failed Democratic candidate,” it didn’t sting. In 2022, I ran for office in one of the most Republican-leaning districts in the state, not because I thought I’d win, but because I believe in public service. Rep. Edwards even sent me a letter after the race thanking me for running. That letter, like most of my family’s belongings, was lost in the hurricane. But I haven’t forgotten it.
Let me be clear: I did not threaten violence when I stood up to be heard. I expressed what millions of veterans feel—abandoned and enraged. What I said wasn’t “profanity,” unless saying, “Do your job” counts as obscene. Besides, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 50 years ago that even offensive speech is protected under the First Amendment. I think staying silent in the face of betrayal would have been the real obscenity.
Edwards has tried to distract from his record by attacking me and the news outlets that reported the truth. He claims the coverage “glorified” my actions. But what he fears is the movement the coverage sparked. He fears that more people will find their voices and start holding him accountable.
That’s why I launched Resist & Persist, a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying the voices of veterans. Veterans have sacrificed too much to be dismissed. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re demanding that the promises our country made to us be kept. Real patriotism means caring for those who served, not silencing them. Politicians like Edwards want to stifle us, but I’m going to keep going. On May 20th, I will be a part of a panel in Fayetteville, Voices for Veterans, to highlight the issues veterans are facing.
Veterans like me didn’t fight for democracy just to come home and be ignored by politicians who value their careers over our country’s future. We won’t be quiet. We won’t sit down.
We will resist. And we will persist.
Our publication partner Cardinal & Pine’s event focused on veterans in Fayetteville is open to the public on Tuesday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. at Studio 215. Register online here.
Jay Carey is a retired Sergeant First Class for the U.S. Army, who served from 1989 to 2012.