Congress recently forced Joe Biden’s secretary of Defense to give up his unlawful shot mandates on U.S. military personnel. But the Biden administration isn’t backing off.

The Friday before last, we had a status conference with Judge Merryday on our upcoming class action hearing for the U.S. Marines. I will update you below.

Read on to learn what’s next in our massive military class action lawsuit against the administration, and what you can do to help preserve religious liberty in this New Year. —Mat

The fight for religious freedom is intensifying every day. Be a part of the victory with your donation now!

When Joe Biden begrudgingly signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on December 23, he was forced to sign away one of his most egregious presidential actions to date—the COVID military shot mandates. But insanely, Biden and his secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) are standing by this unlawful and abusive policy!

Courts across the nation have already ruled the shot mandates to be unlawful and have granted preliminary injunctions protecting multiple branches of the U.S. military from Biden’s unlawful orders. These include classwide relief thus far for the Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marines and, most recently, for certain Army plaintiffs.

Meanwhile, the medical and scientific communities are finally admitting that the shots are neither safe nor effective and are, in fact, causing deaths.

Yet, while the secretary of defense was forced to pause the shot mandate, you will see in the DOD’s own words that this fight is far from over. Help us as we prepare for our upcoming trial for a permanent injunction.

From the beginning, Joe Biden has stubbornly refused to repeal his unlawful mandates. Military members who sought their rightful and lawful religious exemption from the shots were punished in ways both great and small. Some were threatened with prison time, some left stranded overseas, and others faced discharge … to “milder” punishments like revocation of command and assignment to work in a broom closet!

Our team was the only voice on Capitol Hill urging members of Congress to repeal the mandate.

Shortly after the NDAA was signed into law, Biden’s secretary of defense issued a memorandum standing by the administration’s decision to enforce the shot mandate.

The DOD memo states that the department will comply with the NDAA, however “Secretary Austin continues to encourage all of our Service members, civilian employees, and contractor personnel to get vaccinated and boosted to ensure the readiness of our Total Force.”

And a bulletin from the DOD makes clear that the military brass has another way to force service members to comply with Biden’s unlawful shot demands.

Under the “Q&A” section of the DOD memo, the department notes that “Uniformed Code of Military Justice actions [for requesting a religious accommodation to the shot] remain in the Service member’s Official Military Personnel File.”

We know that the DOD considers any service member who requested a religious accommodation to have interfered with “good order and discipline.” Such a negative mark sticks with the member throughout his or her career, reducing, if not eliminating, opportunities for training and advancement. These service members are being punished for Joe Biden’s violation of the law!

Astoundingly, those who defend the Constitution and the laws of the land are considered insubordinate when they request that the laws for which they pledge their lives be upheld.

As I mentioned earlier, we recently had a status conference with Judge Merryday on our Marine class action case. While the DOD wants this case to go away, Judge Merryday will continue the hearing to allow us more time for discovery to get the military brass on record.

Pausing the shot mandate does not end this case. The DOD is not reversing its reprehensible actions of punishing and discharging honorable service members. Unlike these tyrants, we will not leave anyone behind.

These brave service members pledged their lives to us. We are pledging our support to these defenders of freedom.

Liberty Counsel will soon be back in court defending the U.S. Marines from Joe’s jabs and his punishments. Our legal case will continue because without the injunctions, service members will continue to face retaliation for requesting religious accommodations.

Service members who have been loyal to our country and faithful to their religious convictions have suffered greatly under this mandate, and we will continue to seek justice for them.

Please be in prayer for a positive outcome. And please consider making a recurring monthly donation to fund our legal work defending life, traditional family values and religious liberty. Also, our Challenge Grant this month will DOUBLE THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT.

May God bless you in this New Year!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Sources:

“DOD Rescinds Covid Shot Mandate for Military.” Liberty Counsel, December 29, 2022. Lc.org/newsroom/details/122922-dod-rescinds-covid-shot-mandate-for-military-1.

‌‌“Coronavirus Disease 2019.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 11, 2022. Cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0811-covid-guidance.html.