This evening, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of a U.S. Special Forces soldier over insider trading.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke was one of the soldiers who went in to Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro several months back.
Before the mission, he bet big that Maduro would be out by January and ended up winning around $400K in profit.
Now, he’s facing some serious federal charges and up to 60 years in prison.
We covered that story in more detail here:
Putting national security and other soldiers at risk for personal, financial gain is disgraceful, to say the least.
But now, Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is calling for the soldier to be pardoned.
Specifically, Rep. Luna says he should still be punished by having to forfeit all of the money he made. But, she believes that he should not have to go to jail.
She argues that the soldier's arrest is an example of "skewed justice" because members of Congress who profit from similar schemes go unpunished.
In a post on X, she accused the DOJ of having a double-standard and said that they should be going after politicians for insider trading instead of soldiers.
Read Rep. Luna's statement here:
Maybe not a popular take but I am calling for this guy to be pardoned. Unless the DOJ plans on going after all the crooks in congress currently insider trading, this is simply skewed justice. There is no “justice” when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are…
https://t.co/b5hFXY3Ryp
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna)
April 23, 2026
Maybe not a popular take but I am calling for this guy to be pardoned. Unless the DOJ plans on going after all the crooks in congress currently insider trading, this is simply skewed justice. There is no “justice” when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are illegally profiting every day.
I don’t agree with what he did and he should be required to disgorge all the profits however, unless the DOJ plans on doing Congress next, this is not justice.
Later, Rep. Luna doubled down on her view in an appearance on
Fox News.
Watch here:
NOW: Rep. Luna says the U.S. soldier who made $400K by betting on his own mission’s success in capturing Maduro should be PARDONED
“So many Members of Congress are engaging in insider trading everyday. For the DOJ to throw the book at Gannon Ken Van Dyke is a RIDICULOUS…
pic.twitter.com/9yiJJdcIUj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh)
April 24, 2026
Rep. Luna's take is proving very controversial online.
Some believe she makes a fair point:
Pardon. It sounds like he lost his job, that is enough punishment.
— Alien Pancakes (@SweepThaBoard)
April 24, 2026
Look at Nancy Pelosi's portfolio now that she left office. DOWN. These crooks need to be held accountable. They are literally PRINTING SHARES OUT OF THIN AIR DAILY with FailureToDelivers. But this soldier gets charged? We need to do better.
— Failure2Deliver (@Fail2Deliver)
April 24, 2026
This is just another day for politicians, but this guy a working class soldier gets in trouble? If they arrest this guy they need to literally arrest every politician in Congress, and arrest the president.
@POTUS you need to pardon this guy why can everyone else follow no rules…
— Failure2Deliver (@Fail2Deliver)
April 24, 2026
Anyone that can bet on themselves, should do so. Without penalty.
His risk, his reward.
Totally different than insider trading.
You think Intel doesn't own stock in itself?
— Roaster (@WoodmillCoffee)
April 24, 2026
Others are worried about the precedent pardoning the soldier would set:
Bro there are MILLIONS of us who would love to be insider trading if there were no repercussions for it
Where does this go if you let him off just because congress is full of criminals?
Nail. Them. All.
— chewy (@chewbacapalapa)
April 24, 2026
Why would you want him pardoned? Do you want to set an example for other service members to do the same thing? And congress members to go to jail if they do it.
— heidi belanger (@heidibelanger)
April 24, 2026
The problem is it’s a matter of national security. You can’t bet on an outcome that would reveal classified information if it was traced to a member of the armed force.
— Joey Bitcoins (@thejoeybitcoins)
April 24, 2026
Yes, not popular. We're all pissed at the corruption in congress but this does not excuse us to violate our oath and personal integrity as well as possibly compromising the operation "while in possession of classified nonpublic information" to gain a monetary advantage.
— Michael Green (@NETXStatesman)
April 24, 2026
Gen. Mike Flynn also chimed in:
Congresswoman
@RepLuna , I respect your logic but for those who serve in the military, especially this individual, we hold ourselves to a much higher standard than those in Congress.
Congress should not get away with insider trading nor should you hold office forever (ie., term…
https://t.co/LgeDEHWtHh
— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn)
April 24, 2026
Congresswoman @RepLuna, I respect your logic but for those who serve in the military, especially this individual, we hold ourselves to a much higher standard than those in Congress.
Congress should not get away with insider trading nor should you hold office forever (ie., term limits). But this service member placed military lives at severe risk with his foolish decisions.
He should be and likely will be considered for courts-martial and very severe punishment under the UCMJ—a system of government that is wholly different than what we have in our civilian society. It actually holds people accountable and it is generally very fair.
What are your thoughts?
Do you agree with Rep. Luna that the soldier should be pardoned?
Or, do you think the DOJ should throw the book at him?
The post
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