Former Navy SEAL accused of assaulting hotel security officer, calling him a racial slur

The former Navy SEAL who has said he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden is accused of assaulting a Frisco hotel security officer while intoxicated and calling the officer a racial slur, according to a police report obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

Robert J. O’Neill, 47, was arrested Wednesday and released on bail the same day. Frisco police said he faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury and a Class C misdemeanor charge of public intoxication. Jail records list only the assault charge.

O’Neill declined to comment when reached by phone Monday. O’Neill in a post at about 5:45 p.m. Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, denied using recently reported “horrible language.”

On Sunday, he expressed gratitude for support in a post after the news of his arrest broke Friday. O’Neill, who wrote a memoir about his military service and hosts a podcast, has more than 600,000 followers on X.

Social media posts show O’Neill, listed as a Tennessee resident in jail records, was in Frisco on Tuesday to record a podcast at a cigar lounge. Frisco is a city about 30 miles north of Dallas.

According to the police report, Frisco police responded to the Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star at 11 Cowboys Way about 12 a.m. The hotel’s night manager reported to police that an intoxicated man assaulted a loss prevention officer who was escorting him to his room, the report said. The Omni hotel’s executive team did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Hotel staff said a guest reported that another guest was asleep at the bar. Staff offered to use a wheelchair to get the guest, later identified as O’Neill, to his room. O’Neill refused the wheelchair, the report said, and a security officer offered to help him to his room.

According to the report, the officer assisted O’Neill to the elevator as they headed to the fifth floor. A short time later, the officer radioed that he was assaulted by O’Neill at his room door, the report says.

The security officer told police O’Neill hit him in the chest and he needed medical attention. The security officer, who was not identified, told police he felt pain on his chest from being “palm struck” by O’Neill.

A police officer observed redness on the security officer’s chest where he said he was hit.

After the security officer was cleared by medics, he told police he was helping a “belligerent” O’Neill and offered to open his room door since O’Neill was trying to unlock it with a credit card, the report said. O’Neill then turned and struck the officer in the chest with his right palm and called him a “f---ing n-word,” according to the report.

According to the police report, the officer stepped back and said, “I can’t believe you just hit me.”

O’Neill reportedly repeated the officer’s words in a mocking manner. The security guard called over his radio to police at that time, the report said.

Police officers located O’Neill attempting to unlock a hotel room with a credit card. O’Neill was unstable on his feet and smelled strongly of alcohol and his eyes were red and glassy, police said in the report.

When an officer asked O’Neill what happened that night, he refused to answer, the report said, and repeatedly asked “we good?” and said he was just trying to go home.

He refused to answer how much he had to drink, police said.

When the officer asked O’Neill if he knew where he was, O’Neill said “Addison.” Addison is a city about 14 miles south of Frisco.

Believing O’Neill was a danger to himself and to others, police arrested him, the report said.

O’Neill, originally from Montana, first said in 2014 that he fired the shots that killed bin Laden in 2011. The U.S. government has neither confirmed nor denied the account.

In 2016, prosecutors in Montana dropped a DUI charge against the former SEAL Team 6 member, who has received two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars and a Joint Service Commendation Medal. Both sides stipulated that the charge stemmed from prescription medication he used to treat a condition connected to his military service, the Montana Standard reported.