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James LaPorta is a freelance journalist and a former U.S. Marine infantry squad leader and intelligence chief. He frequently covers national security and veterans issues. Follow him on Twitter @JimLaPorta

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Army Warned Months Ago That Coronavirus Could Kill 150,000

BLACK SWAN

While the president was still downplaying the COVID-19 epidemic, an Army briefing shared with The Daily Beast shows the service warning of the scale of death Trump now concedes.

AD BY The Daily Beast | Published Apr 02, 2020
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‘We’re F*cked’: Troops Scramble in Aircraft Carrier Outbreak

OVERBOARD

And the fallout isn’t just aboard the USS Roosevelt. In Kuwait, the brigade deployed to deter Iran is now caught in the Pentagon’s 60-day movement freeze.

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Mar 26, 2020

Pentagon on Daily Beast Story: ‘We Need to Do Better’

COVID-22 NO MORE?

A Beast report brought to light disturbing conditions in the military’s coronavirus quarantines for returning veterans.

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Mar 18, 2020
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US Soldier in Virus Quarantine: ‘Prisoners Get Better Care’

COVID-22

In one of the first accounts from inside the precautionary military lockdown, a returning Afghanistan veteran describes unpreparedness and absurdity.

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Mar 17, 2020
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Army Withholds $100 Million From Its Top Virus-Hunting Lab

TURN YOUR HEAD AND COUGH

The U.S. military is withholding more than $100 million from its leading chemical and biological research facilities—including a world-famous infectious diseases lab.

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Mar 13, 2020
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Trump Chatted With Taliban Leaders on Secret Kill List

TOUGH TALK

The commander in chief got on the phone with people his government officially wants jailed or dead, Defense Department sources told The Daily Beast.

Asawin Suebsaeng, James LaPorta, Erin Banco | Published Mar 10, 2020

Inside the Spy Base Where Military Will Detain Immigrants

INTERCEPTED

At Goodfellow Air Force Base, servicemembers train on how to collect phone calls, texts, and other communications. How will immigration lawyers securely represent their clients?

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Jun 27, 2018

Detention Camps on Military Bases ‘Totalitarian,’ Troops Say

STOLEN VALOR

The Pentagon ‘is participating in a scheme that appropriates the concept of military honor to perpetrate a human rights abuse,’ one decorated veteran tells The Daily Beast.

James LaPorta, Spencer Ackerman | Published Jun 25, 2018

Marine Veteran Trains White Supremacists in Military Tactics

PARAMILITARY

Patriot Front formed after Charlottesville, and leaked messages reveal members are getting trained like they’re in boot camp.

James LaPorta | Published Jun 11, 2018

David Hogg’s Florida Home ‘Swatted’ by Prank Hostage Call

PRANK TOO FAR

Hogg and cops said a prank call targeted the teenage school-shooting survivor’s home, triggering a substantial law-enforcement response.

James LaPorta, Julia Arciga | Published Jun 05, 2018