A US ARMY reservist is being investigated by military officials after he appeared on stage at a campaign event for Republican Party candidate Ron Paul while in uniform.

Cpl Jesse Thorsen, 28, appeared on stage at a Ron Paul rally in Iowa during the state-wide caucus on Tuesday and publicly declared his support for Paul. Ron Paul came third in the caucus behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum with 21 per cent of the vote.

The Washington Post reports that the investigation centres on whether Thorsen’s endorsement while in uniform breached army regulations. It also quotes an army reserve spokesperson as saying Thorsen has not been on active duty since October.

Thorsen had been cut off during a televised interview with CNN earlier that evening when the connection to the studio dropped while he was explaining why he backed Ron Paul.

Paul has pledged to pull US troops from Afghanistan if he is elected to the White House.

Introducing Thorsen to the stage that night, Paul described him as a “special guest” who had served in the military for ten years and “a lot of it was in Iraq and Afghanistan”:

(Video via RonPaul2008dotcom)

Thorsen’s appearance on Tuesday evening has reminded some political commentators of Joe the Plumber, who became a star during the Republican presidential campaign of 2008:

(Video via toledobladedotcom)

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