In the years following a deadly September 16, 2007, incident involving U.S. diplomatic security teams in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, four military contractors (Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Nick Slatten, and Evan Liberty) were unjustly imprisoned for their involvement. False accusations, media-driven hype, and the actions of politically motivated prosecutors resulted in years of imprisonment, to include life in prison for Slatten to begin in 2019.
But on December 22, 2020, then-President Donald Trump – nearing the end of what would be his first term in office – pardoned all four of the Blackwater contractors. American Family News spoke to three of them about the years following their release from prison, having endured the Biden presidency and now looking forward expectantly to Trumps’s second term in office.
Prior to his incarceration, Heard had never missed voting in a presidential election.
“To be able to cast my vote [in the 2024 presidential election] was a very special occasion,” he admits. “I knew then that my rights were fully restored – and being able to vote for the man who gave me a pardon to welcome me back to normal society is something I cannot explain.”
Heard is excited about Trump’s second term. He was greatly concerned about the struggling economy and rising inflation during the previous administration’s four years in office. “How does America survive this?” he says he often asked.
But now that Trump is returning to the helm, he is hopeful. “We’re already seeing a few breaks in some areas and he’s not even in office,” Heard points out. “I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do once he’s back in the White House.”
Like Heard, Slough is also looking forward to the future. He recalls the 2016 election, feeling that if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, “there would have been no way we would have ever seen a pardon.”
“[But] as providence would have it,” he shares, “Trump became the President of the United States, and the rest is history.”
With the ability to vote for Trump in 2024, Slough admits that voting for the person who pardoned him "brought me some additional closure in a sense.”
“What I’m most excited about in his next term is that [Trump] now understands how ‘the machine’ operates,” Slough points out. “I think he’s coming in with a much clearer picture of how DC [the District of Columbia] runs.
“And while there are bad apples in government who need to be ousted for a new team of people,” he suggests, “there are also tons of people who work within our governmental institutions who have been waiting for a bloodless revolution – and the next four years or more will be their time to shine.”
Knowing this, Slough argues that Trump will be “even more successful bringing the country back to how the Founders intended it to be.” He prays for Trump and families across America, giving thanks to the Lord for “the grace He has extended to us and to our great nation.”
Slatten agrees with Slough, further describing the opportunity to vote for President-elect Trump as “a God moment.” While “it felt like a dream,” he says, “it was amazing to see how much blessing the Lord has poured into my life.”
“Being able to vote for the man who pardoned my brothers and me was awesome,” he says. “Seeing Donald Trump’s name on the ballet was amazing.”
Considering the level of vitriol Trump faced following his 2016 win for presidency – which included impeachment hearings late in his first term as well as an assassination attempt during his run for a second term – Slatten recognizes the president-elect's dedication to role.
“A lot of people would have wanted to quit, but he has instead promised to do great things for this country,” he argues – and for this reason, Slatten prays Trump can “continue the fight” while also honoring the Lord.
Slatten also continues to advocate for the pardon of Calvin Gibbs, an Army staff sergeant serving a life sentence after his 2011 conviction in the murder case of three Afghans. Gibbs, however, continues to stand by his innocence and has sued to have those convictions vacated.
“Calvin is a prisoner in his own country, same as I was and same as my brothers were,” Slatten tells AFN. "[I'm hopeful Trump will] pardon Cal quickly upon checking into the White House.”
Considering the evidence of Gibbs’ case, Slatten hopes Trump will see it as he does: as “an infantryman doing his job, shooting back once he’s shot at.”
Editor's note: The book "Raven 23: How the Department of Justice Betrayed American Heroes" by investigative journalist Gina Keating chronicles the true story of the men of Blackwater’s Raven 23 team. It is set for publication on September 16, 2025, the 18th anniversary of the Nisour Square incident. Published by Harper Collins' Broadside imprint, it is now available for pre-sale online.
