Last Friday Breitbart Texas reported on Andrew Tahmooressi, a 25-year-old marine who was imprisoned in Mexico for having illegal guns in his car. Tahmooressi claims he was driving to San Ysidro, California to meet a fellow veteran and accidentally took a wrong turn across the border. Crossing into Mexico with the firearms has resulted in his incarceration in a Mexican prison for over two months. 

At a border stop in Tijuana, Mexican officials searched the marine’s car. They found three guns which while legal in the United States, are illegal to possess in Mexico. According to Tahmooressi’s lawyer, he is currently being charged with the possession of firearms meant for the exclusive use by the Mexican military. He is currently facing six to 21 years in a Mexican prison. 

After serving two tours in Afghanistan Tahmooresi was diagnosed with PTSD. His mother Jill Tahmooressi has repeatedly voiced her concerns that the Mexican jail is not prepared to handle a U.S. veteran with PTSD and has been very active in lobbying for her son’s release. She has appeared on dozens national television and radio programs to tell Andrew’s story and to encourage viewers to sign a WhiteHouse.gov petition she created on his behalf. 

The petition demanding Tahmooressi’s release reached 116,944 signatures Saturday, fulfilling the 100,000 threshold needed to guarantee a response from President Obama. When Breitbart Texas last reported on the story, the petition had barely collected 40,000 signatures. It took just over a week to get the other 60,000. 

CNN reports that no one from the State Department has contacted Tahmooressi’s mother yet, but she has heard from the chief of American citizens services at the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana. 

There is currently no news on the jailed marine’s release, but he has repeatedly told reporters that he is optimistic about the future. 

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of this and has been helping me and rallying with me and signing my petition,” said Tahmooressi to CNN. “I can’t thank you enough. I thank god for you guys.” 

Follow Patrick Kane on Twitter @PatVKane.