Blackwater guards surrender on 14 counts of manslaughter for roles in Iraq shooting.

Five former Blackwater security guards surrendered to federal authorities today in Utah “over charges stemming from the 2007 shootings in Baghdad that killed 17 Iraqis.” Subsequently, the Justice Department unsealed a 35-count indictment charging the five former security guards “with voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and weapons violations.” From the Justice Department press release:

If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each count of manslaughter, seven years of imprisonment for each count of attempt to commit manslaughter, and a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 30 years for the firearms count.

The charges represent the “first prosecution under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to be filed against non-Defense Department private contractors.” A sixth guard “admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.”