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President Trump has selected picked Joe Kent as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. In his announcement, Trump mentioned Kent's late wife Shannon, a Navy cryptologist killed by a suicide bomber in Syria in 2019. “Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life.
Above all, Joe knows the terrible cost of terrorism, losing his wonderful wife, Shannon, a Great American Hero, who was killed in the fight against ISIS. Joe continues to honor her legacy by staying in the fight," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. "Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the world, to the cartels in our backyard,” Trump added.
Kent thanked Trump for the nomination in a post on X, saying “it’s an honor to serve our nation again, time to keep our nation safe & strong!” Here is what we know about Joe Kent and his late wife Shannon: Kent was the Republican candidate for the 2024 congressional election for Washington's 3rd Congressional District. He lost to Democrat Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez after losing to her for the same seat in 2022.
He was endorsed by for the Congress position by Matt Gaetz, Michael Flynn and Trump. Kent has been embroiled in several controversies, including reports of connections to right-wing extremists, including a campaign consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys. He is known to embrace right-wing conspiracy theories, including that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and that the FBI is “corrupt” and needs to be brought “to heel," MSNBC.
com reported. Born in 1983 in Oswego, New York, Shannon Kent was a United States Navy cryptologic technician and member of JSOC's Intelligence Support Activity. Shannon enlisted in the Navy in 2003 and graduated from boot camp at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, in February 2004, the Times of India reported.
She was fluent in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic and became a cryptologist at Fort Meade, Maryland. In the midst of her military career Smith was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2006 and was successfully treated with surgery. In 2008, she deployed to Afghanistan to support a Navy SEAL team.
Shannon married her husband Joe in 2014 and had two sons together. In November 2018 she was deployed to Syria as Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician. On January 19, 2019, Kent was one of four Americans was killed by an Islamic State group suicide bomber in northeastern Syria.
Kent, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, DOD civilian intelligence officer Scott A. Wirtz, and civilian contractor Ghadir (Jasmine) Taher stopped at a local restaurant frequented by Americans after meeting with local military officials.
While inside the restaurant a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near the entrance, Times Now News reported. All four military personnel were killed in the attack alongside 15 local Syrian Democratic Forces fighters. Kent's young sons were only 3-years-old and 18 months at the time of her death.
Joe Kent went on to remarry in 2023 with Heather Kaiser. Shannon was posthumously promoted to senior chief petty officer and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Ribbon, among other honors. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.
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