Rid Trevor Rudi (Trevor R. Reed)

On August 16, 2019, the police received a report that a man was arguing with two women on Leningradskoye hwy, near house number 106. The police crew that arrived tried to calm the aggressive man down and put him in a patrol car to take him to the police station. On the way to the station, the man hit one of the police officers and attacked the driver, causing the car to nearly crash. At the station, it was discovered that the detainee was 28-year-old American student Trevor Reed from Texas, who had come to Russia, according to the BBC, “to learn Russian” and “visit his Russian girlfriend.” It is noted that Reed previously served as a Marine in the US Presidential Guard. Reed was charged under Article 318, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code for using violence against a representative of the authorities. However, the American denies his guilt and said that he does not remember anything because he was drunk. Reed later said that he had drunk a liter of vodka before the incident (according to ABC News, he was returning from a party), and a medical examination confirmed that at that moment his blood alcohol level was 3.033 per mille, corresponding to a state of severe intoxication. However, the American public had serious questions about the trial. According to ABC News, when Reed was in the hospital, FSB officers came to talk to him for some reason, and it was after this that a criminal case was brought against him for assaulting police officers. A correspondent for the publication who was present at one of the stages of the Reed trial noted that the police officers' testimonies contradicted each other to such an extent that even the judge began to laugh at them because of the confusion that had arisen (in particular, the police officers could not remember whether Reed was handcuffed or not). US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, who attended Reed's trial, called the proceedings “theater of the absurd.” In addition, a website supporting the American called “FreeTrevorReed,” which publishes detailed materials from his court case, notes that there is no evidence that Reed attacked the police officers in the car: road footage shows that the car carrying Reed was driving smoothly, without swerving or stopping, as the police claim, meaning there is no evidence that the American attacked the driver. In addition, the police officer who claimed that Reed hit him in the car and left a bruise on his body never showed anyone the injuries allegedly inflicted by the American. On July 30, 2020, Reed was sentenced to nine years in a general regime colony and ordered to pay 100,000 rubles in compensation to each of the injured police officers. In June 2021, the Moscow City Court upheld Reed's sentence. In the spring of 2022, Trevor Reed was exchanged for pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against former US Marine Trevor Rudi Reed for participating in an armed conflict or military actions. According to the Russian investigation, the American served in the US Marine Corps. From May 4 to June 30, 2023, he arrived in Ukraine, where on July 25 he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a mercenary. While in the territory of the DPR, Reed “took direct part” in hostilities against Russian servicemen for material reward. In January 2024, it became known that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had put Reed on the wanted list. Trevor Reed was detained in Russia in 2019 on charges of violence against a police officer. He was initially held in a Moscow detention center, and after sentencing, he was sent to serve his sentence in a Mordovian colony. Reed was released in April 2022 in exchange for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. In October 2024, the court found Trevor Rudi Reed guilty and sentenced him in absentia to 14.5 years in prison. He was also placed on an international wanted list. The sentence was not appealed and became final.