Shortly after graduating from the Academy, Belden was assigned as a machine gunner on a makeshift tank for the Raqqa campaign. His unit helped to capture Tal Salman in mid-November.
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In August 2020, it was revealed that the Department of Homeland Security investigated Belden and other “anarchist fighters” for “suspected or confirmed ANTIFA links.” In response, Belden stated “I am not now nor have I ever been a member of any antifa organization” and quipped that “The US government has been spying on and smearing communists for 100 years but they usually have the decency not to call a Red an anarchist!”[15]