Military veterans are sounding off about a Democratic congressional candidate who they say inflated his Navy record and used a deceased Korea War vet’s gravesite as a campaign prop.
Ammar Campa-Najjar — a candidate for an east San Diego congressional seat and boyfriend of billionaire Qualcomm heiress Rep. Sara Jacobs — is under fire for fudging details of his service to boost his campaign.
“I supported Ammar in the past, but won’t again,” said Elizabeth Perez-Rodriguez, a former CalVet deputy secretary, Vista entrepreneur and Navy combat veteran, in a statement.
“As a combat veteran, I can’t stand when political candidates exploit the uniform for politics and using a veteran’s gravesite in your campaign is toxic and disrespectful.”
Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Navy Reserve officer since 2023, called himself a “Navy Officer” in campaign materials — a violation of policies that Navy reservists running for office must accurately state their reserve status.
Campa-Najjar was also blasted for staging photos ops at the Massachusetts National Cemetery gravesite of a Korea War veteran with whom he had no relationship — later using the photos on his campaign website.
His campaign told The Post he did not know the veteran, who died in 1997 and is named Richard K. Stephenson, but took the photo while “participating in an official Memorial Day event where he, alongside his unit, honored fallen service members.”
“At no point did the campaign engage in political activity at a VA cemetery, and any suggestion otherwise is a misrepresentation of both the facts and the applicable rules,” Campa-Najjar’s campaign manager, Andi McNew, told The Post.
Campaign activity at national cemeteries is strictly prohibited under federal law and Veterans Affairs regulations.
Michael Malach, an Army combat veteran, said: “All these allegations are damning and show a complete disregard for what military service and wearing the uniform should mean.
“Shame on Campa-Najjar and anyone who supported these cynical political stunts, especially using posed portraits at a deceased veteran’s grave to try and boost his campaign.”
The veterans’ reactions were shared by Marni Von Wilpert, another Democrat running for the 48th congressional district.
“Our national cemeteries are sacred ground – not political backdrops. Using a service member’s gravesite at a VA cemetery for political campaign photos is among the most disrespectful, distasteful and cynical political ploys I’ve ever seen,” added Brian Van Riper, Marine Corps combat veteran and former organizer for Barack Obama.
Campa-Najjar, the grandson of a Palestinian militant, has since removed the photo at Stephenson’s grave from his website and edited his campaign materials to note his reserve status.
“While the Navy has not requested any changes be made, the campaign is happy to include additional details of Ammar’s service to the nation,” McNew said.
“Ammar is a proud Navy Reserve Officer who has been on active duty status throughout periods of his career, including in the Phillipines, as well as at Pacific Fleet Head Quarters and Fort Meade.”
The Navy is investigating Campa-Najjar over the allegations that he’s misused his Navy service to help his campaign.
“The Navy is looking into the matter. We have nothing further to provide,” a spokesperson told The Post.
This is Campa-Najjar’s third campaign for Congress — having lost two prior campaigns in 2018 and 2020 as well as a race for Chula Vista mayor, bankrolled by Jacobs and her wealthy family.
Jacobs and her family members have thrown more than $200,000 at Campa-Najjar’s failed campaigns for office in the San Diego area.
Campa-Najjar has also been criticized for bizarre political flip-flops, campaigning first as a lefty in 2018 before embracing conservative positions in his second failed congressional campaign in 2020.
He ran again as a liberal for Chula Vista mayor in 2022, losing to Republican John McCann.
