Liberty Counsel filed a motion in U.S. District Court on behalf of an Idaho Army National Guard infantry officer seeking a default judgment against Governor Brad Little and two generals who have failed to respond to a lawsuit contending they unlawfully removed the officer from command because of his Christian beliefs. 

In January 2025, Major David Worley filed a lawsuit and a previous motion for a preliminary injunction contending he had been removed from his command for merely expressing his personal views on biblical sexuality outside of the military environment. While Gov. Little has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the governor and the two generals, Adjutant General of the Idaho National Guard Major General Timothy J. Donnellan and the Assistant Adjutant General Brigadier General James C. Packwood, have all failed to respond to or oppose Worley’s specific discrimination complaint under the federal court’s timeline rules. Liberty Counsel is requesting the Court find the three defendants in Default and grant the injunction to cease all ongoing efforts to discipline and remove Worley from the military. 

While a 2023 investigation into Worley revealed no wrongdoing, officials nevertheless recommended a policy to screen potential candidates for command for any “concerning ideologies” as a way of “rooting out” any “extremism” in the ranks. Accordingly, General Packwood concluded Worley’s religious beliefs were “toxic” and removed him from command solely due to those protected religious views. With Gov. Little as the commander-in-chief of the Idaho Army National Guard, as well as General Donnellan failing to rectify these actions, the decision to remove Worley from command on this basis essentially shows that these officials put an unconstitutional “No Christians in Command” policy into effect. Worley’s lawsuit states that these discriminatory actions are penalizing the “mere exercise and expression” of religious views and violate the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Idaho Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act.

For failing to respond to these allegations, Liberty Counsel noted in its motion that “silence is a concession” and that Worley is entitled to a preliminary injunction. 

As for Gov. Little’s motion to dismiss the case, the governor claims he has immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects states from certain lawsuits. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that lawsuits can move forward against government officials for violations of federal law. 

When state officials use state power and act in contravention to the Constitution or federal law, they are stripped of their “cloak of immunity” and must be “sued and stopped” from such unconstitutional actions, wrote Liberty Counsel. 

The events that led to this unjustifiable policy began when Worley ran for mayor in Pocatello, Idaho. During Worley’s political campaign, which he conducted strictly outside his military duties, he expressed his religious convictions and moral objections to certain issues relevant to political discourse in his community. He expressed his opposition to issues involving so-called “Drag Queen Story Hours,” pornographic material for minors in public libraries, and the medical mutilation of gender-confused children. All of Worley’s protected speech occurred off-duty in his private capacity and before he took command of the Idaho Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention unit.  

In 2023, a subordinate senior enlisted man under Worley’s command, who claims to be homosexual and is ideologically opposed to Worley’s religious beliefs, filed a formal discrimination complaint against Worley. Despite only meeting Worley twice without incident, the complaining guardsman alleged he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation and that Worley created a hostile work environment. The complaining guardsman noted he felt “threatened and unsafe” merely due to Worley’s beliefs. As a result, the Idaho Army National Guard suspended Worley from command in July 2023 following the complaint and then illegally pressured him to resign without benefit of any counsel or notice. He rescinded his notice two hours later after contacting Liberty Counsel.

After a formal investigation General Packwood found no evidence that Worley did anything wrong in the workplace. Yet, out of the investigation came the recommendation that all candidates for command be scrutinized to ensure any concerning expression is discovered, reported to the Department of Defense, and investigated for extremist activity.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “By suspending and removing Major David Worley from command over his Christian beliefs, the Idaho Army National Guard informally adopted an unconstitutional ‘No Christians in Command’ policy. Major Worley was unquestionably the target of an unconstitutional investigation and removal. The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs or to specifically target religion for disparate and discriminatory treatment. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored.”