Et tu Pete? A Repeat of Biden-Era Vaccine Tyranny
By Liberty Counsel Staff
A 12-year Marine Corps officer faces punitive measures for holding to his convictions after the Department of Defense (DOD) denied his religious accommodation requests to annual vaccine mandates.
It’s the same song with a different tune. This Marine officer was also represented by Liberty Counsel during the Biden-era COVID-19 vaccine mandate battle and asserted his rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Liberty Counsel succeeded in obtaining an injunction against the Marine Corps kicking him out during COVID, and now the anti-religious forces somehow remaining in the military are after him again. The Marine Corps officer is again facing discrimination and being denied religious exemptions for the military’s annual inoculations (TDAP and influenza). To add insult to injury, the Marine Corps applied a blanket denial of religious accommodations while allowing medical exemptions for the same shots.
Instead of respecting his religious beliefs and granting an exemption, like the Marine Corps was already told to do in the COVID-era, this Marine Corps Supply Officer faces summary removal and separation with a punitive discharge.
In response, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asking the DOD to respect the religious liberty of this Marine Corps officer and resolve the matter administratively rather than through litigation.
Liberty Counsel wrote, “In light of the geopolitical situation, it is more critical than ever that DOD retain qualified personnel and not lose them to the ‘friendly fire’ of wrongfully denied religious accommodation requests, particularly where such denials result from a sham ‘process’ holdover from the Biden Administration and your predecessor in the Pentagon.”
The days of disrespecting religious liberty should be long over. President Trump has issued several executive orders prohibiting religious discrimination in the federal government, instituted a task force to root out unconstitutional religious discrimination in the federal government, and has otherwise made it clear that past discrimination will not stand; despite all this, issues persist.
Liberty Counsel Associate Vice President of Legal Affairs Daniel Schmid added, “Secretary of Defense Hegseth has also been quoted as saying ‘DEI’ and the ‘woke nonsense’ is gone from the military, and he was ‘not playing around.’ It’s high time these officials made good on those promises.”
This Marine Corps Supply Officer submitted a religious accommodation request for the influenza and TDAP shot on December 13, 2022, and it was fully denied on February 28, 2024. This was nearly identical to the processing of his COVID-19 shot religious accommodation. Did the Pentagon not learn its lesson from the Biden-era COVID mandates?
“The only logical explanation from this blatant religious discrimination from deep-state actors inside the Marine Corps is that they are going after this officer in retaliation for his victory against their unconstitutional and unconscionable COVID schemes,” said Schmid. “In essence, these deep-state actors said, after the officer received a court-ordered injunction against his removal, ‘We’ll get you next time.’ The Secretary of Defense has a constitutional and moral obligation — to say nothing of the obligation borne of his own promises — to say, ‘Not so fast.’”
The Marine Corps is violating his constitutional religious free exercise rights and his rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Liberty Counsel has put the DOD on notice, and the Pentagon has until July 31 to reply. Until then, Liberty Counsel will fight for the right of the nation’s fighters to not have to check their deeply held religious beliefs at the door.
“The Pentagon cannot repeat the costly mistake of forcing service members to choose between their religious convictions and their careers,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “... It is time for the military to commit to protecting the religious freedom and the rights of conscience of all service members within the military branches.”
A costly mistake, indeed. The Pentagon cannot continue denying religious accommodations for service members, infringing on the rights it claims to protect.
Our military heroes sacrificed everything in defense and service of this great Republic. They swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies both foreign and domestic. It’s high time we return the favor and protect them against the dark, anti-religious forces apparently still lurking in the shadows of the Department of Defense.