There’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? Don’t tell that to Mark-1 Plumbing owner Mark Oberholtzer.
A photo posted to an Islamic militant group’s Twitter feed caused quite the stir earlier this week, making its rounds on social media and grabbing national headlines much to the chagrin of Oberholtzer.
Chechen Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar using plumbing truck against regime in #Aleppo pic.twitter.com/QQwJuIfV7F
— Caleb Weiss (@Weissenberg7) December 15, 2014The photo shows a Ford F-250 pickup truck — decaled with the Mark-1 Plumbing logo and phone number — being used on the front lines of the civil war in Syria by a group believed to be Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar.
Mounted on the back of the truck is an anti-aircraft weapon, which is shown in the viral photo firing off rounds of ammunition.
Unlike what some online readers believe, however, Oberholtzer insists he is not involved with aiding and abetting Jihadists in Syria.
News reports say the Texas tradesman went to an AutoNation Ford dealership outside Houston back in November 2013 to trade in the used pickup. The dealership was responsible for removing the decals, Oberholtzer told the Galveston Daily News.
But perhaps the bigger issue is how the plumbing truck ever ended up in the hands of Chechen terrorists once affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to USA Today, a spokesperson for AutoNation claims the F-250 immediately went to auction and most likely traded owners multiple times before being used to wage war against the Syrian government.
“I just want it to go away to tell you the truth,” says Jeff Oberholtzer, son of the Mark-1 Plumbing owner, who claims the office has been flooded with threatening phone calls.
“We have a secretary here; she’s scared to death,” he says. “We all have families. We don’t want no problems.”
Source: USA Today
