As a kid, Ellis Speagle would constantly get in trouble, the rules always seemed to be in the wrong place at the right time. It didn\u2019t seem fair. Six years in the military didn\u2019t help either, and unable to avoid their towering landscape of regulations, he learned every rule in their book. So, when forces of power tried to defy the rules, he noticed \u2013 and made certain \u2013 that justice was served. Now, Speagle is a sophomore in Princeton\u2019s politics department, working towards law school.<\/p>\n
After graduating high school, Speagle travelled from his home in Phoenix to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and to a realisation that he needed a fixed job. On his second day working as a waiter in a steak restaurant, his boss shouted at him concerning his apron length. Fed up with being ordered around, \u201cI said you know what, fuck this, I’m never gonna put myself in a position where someone yells at me like that,\u201d so that same day, \u201cI signed up for the military, where they yelled at me like that every single day,\u201d Speagle laughed.<\/p>\n
Beginning in 2019, Speagle’s journey in the military proved a gruelling yet enlightening six years, and he was moved around \u2013 a lot: deployed, stationed, returned \u2013 repeat.<\/p>\n
It was 2021 when Jessica Tutor walked into a job training class required by the military and saw only one open seat, nervous and slightly embarrassed in the new environment, she slowly took the open chair beside Speagle. It was an instant connection. \u201cHe was the first one that made me feel comfortable,\u201d Tutor said. Through this class, they became close, but by the end of their deployment on a ship that sailed around the middle-east, they were family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were on deployment in Guam when it happened,\u201d Tutor began. Tutor and Speagle\u2019s ship had docked in Guam one evening, and off-duty members of the corps, including Tutor, partied in the bars and clubs. With it being humid and uncomfortably hot, Tutor left the party to sit in her rental car with the air conditioning on. Mistaking her stationary time-out for drink-driving, a Chief Officer filed a case against her which would have resulted in severe punishments or expulsion from the military.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was beside myself because I felt wrongfully convicted and targeted, no one was on my side,\u201d Tutor said. Feeling alone, Tutor turned to Speagle. \u201cI was reading [Tutor\u2019s] statement, and I don’t know why, but I was calling bullshit,\u201d Speagle said. Afterwards, he researched the rental car model, and learned that it was a push-to-start, so Tutor couldn\u2019t have placed the keys in the ignition like the statement against her claimed. \u201cThe next day, the whole case was dismissed,\u201d Speagle said. \u201cThat man saved my life, and he didn\u2019t even have to,\u201d Tutor added.<\/p>\n
However, separately, Speagle acquired his own court cases. In August 2021, Speagle had been stationed in a psychiatric unit. \u201cI was dealing with my own mental health problems, and here I am in the psych ward, giving mental health coaching to other people. It was insane\u201d Speagle said. Speagle turned to psychedelics to guide him through this period, finding himself spiritually, on numerous ayahuasca retreats. \u201cThat saved me,\u201d Speagle added. During this time, he took a leave for two-weeks to Guadalajara, Mexico and tried Kambo, a drug where one burns tree frog poison into their skin thus becoming extremely ill, but \u201cyou have this amazing, profound experience throughout the process,\u201d Speagle said. However, an illness prevailed following the return to his post which required surgery. While sick, his superiors in the military ignored, delegated, and built a court case against him, claiming he was faking doctors notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still remember this moment. I remember I woke up, and something came over me. But I said, I’m gonna fucking fight this. I’m gonna throw everything at this, and if I lose, I lose, but I’m gonna do something,\u201d Speagle said. He ended up writing a 105 page long statement from 277 pieces of evidence and was found not guilty on all charges. \u201cI proved it,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that he is easily the most incredibly gifted, smartest person I’ve ever met,\u201d said Brendan Merrill, an extremely close friend of Speagle\u2019s. Merrill and Speagle had worked at the same unit in the Navy hospital in early 2022, \u201cEvery time I need someone, the first person I call is him,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cI always wanted to become the person that I always wished I could call when I needed help,\u201d Speagle said.<\/p>\n
After landing himself in $20,000 of credit card debt in 2023 from multiple ayahuasca retreats, Speagle decided to ditch his rented apartment and moved into his Toyota Takoma. From here, he worked tirelessly to pay off his debts, continued to fight a court case against the military, and learned that he had a benign brain tumor on April 10th 2024. 3 weeks after winning the court case, \u201cI had another coming to Jesus moment, and thought, what am I going to do with my life?\u201d\u00a0 His father desperately wanted him to apply for Princeton, \u201cI have a really good feeling about it,\u201d said Speagle\u2019s father. \u201cSo I threw everything I had into this one basket, and it paid off,\u201d Speagle said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always happens to be in the right place at the right time, and he always does the right thing,\u201d Tutor said.<\/p>\n
Speagle defined himself as resilient and defiant, but Tutor said that he is irreplaceable.<\/p>\n
When it comes to making things right and making things happen, \u201cWhatever it takes,\u201d said Speagle, \u201cI\u2019ll do whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a kid, Ellis Speagle would constantly get in trouble, the rules always seemed to be in the wrong place at the right time. It didn\u2019t seem fair. Six years in the military didn\u2019t help either, and unable to avoid their towering landscape of regulations, he learned every rule in their book. So, when forces<\/p>\n