Soldier Accused of Desertion Barred From Discussing North Korea Stay, Family Says

The mother and stepfather of Travis King, a U.S. soldier in custody after fleeing to North Korea, said they were shocked by the charges against him in an interview with ABC News. Both said that King signed paperwork forbidding him from sharing details regarding his stay in North Korea, which expelled King last month. He has since been kept in pre-trial detention in El Paso, Texas, on eight charges including desertion, assaulting fellow soldiers, and possession of child pornography. King’s stepfather, Dan Jovanovic, said it was “100 percent-plus out of character” for King to possess child pornography, and that the pair found out about it on the news. Gates said her family plans “to fight the charges and fight the charges hard.” Carl Gates, King’s uncle, previously told The Daily Beast that his son’s death contributed to King’s troubling behavior: “The pain came from my son, and it escalated to this shit.”