WIBC’s Jason Hammer reported Monday that a credible source who serves in the National Guard reached out to him with shocking claims about the conditions at a facility in south-central Indiana where more than 6,000 Afghan refugees are currently being housed.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that he had observed refugees at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh “defecating on tables” and “cleaning their clothes in toilets.”
The individual, known personally by Jason Hammer, also asserted that as many as 47 unvetted refugees that were awaiting processing are now missing.
He further alleged that some refugees had managed to obtain weapons and that members of the National Guard who are serving at Camp Atterbury were told to “keep a vigilant eye out” because there had “been shank fights.”
Our initial report sparked outrage on social media and prompted several individuals with first-hand knowledge of the conditions at Camp Atterbury to contact us via email and direct message.
While the majority of those who came forward affirmed our source’s claims, at least one strongly denied the allegations. That individual, who is also known personally by WIBC’s Jason Hammer, said he has seen nothing but positive things taking place taking place at Camp Atterbury.
“I see soldiers handing out baby formula and playing soccer with the kids,” the source wrote in his message. “I’ve seen many soldiers that have never been deployed giving piggyback rides and playing tags.”
The source also addressed the claim that nearly 50 unvetted refugees have wandered away from the camp and are currently missing.
“47 curious immigrants out of [sic] 8,500 seeking a better life, I’d say we’re doing pretty good,” the source wrote.
Jason Hammer asked our original source to respond to the message we received refuting his claims.
The source replied that will go on the record about what’s happening at Camp Atterbury and other facilities housing Afghan refugees because “there are federal dollars at stake.”
“The things I’ve seen and stories I was told were from full-time staff down there,” he wrote. “They will deny it on the record because of the potential repercussions, but these are the real things happening, not just at Atterbury but other posts too.”
The source also expressed shock that the individual who challenged his claims “thinks it’s okay for 47 Afghans to just flee [the] base.”
“That’s an entire platoon of people just leaving and not knowing what they might be up to,” he noted.
WIBC has reached out to Camp Atterbury for a statement regarding our initial report. We are currently awaiting a response.
https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/more-on-camp-atterbury-conditions
