A federal court delivered two shots over Joe Biden’s bow in our case Navy SEAL 1 v. Joseph R. Biden. I want to share this recent development as we continue to work to free our military members, federal employees and civilian contractors from Biden’s unlawful mandates. Read on. — Mat

But first, please don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of our Challenge Grant to fund our legal work. Please give now so we do not miss this opportunity to fund the fight for religious freedom!

Give Now to Double the Impact!

Just before Thanksgiving, the federal judge in our case Navy SEAL 1 v. Biden withheld the injunction, and instead sent two shots over Biden’s bow.

Regarding federal employees and civilian contractors, the judge stated the mandates “expressly require religious exemption.” Employees who work for the federal government and those who work with private employers under a federal contract have the RIGHT to submit a request for religious exemption. These exemptions must be carefully and lawfully considered.

But that’s not all ...

In a previous hearing, the judge ordered the military to produce documentation on all religious exemption requests from service members. The documentation supplied revealed that the military did not grant ANY of the 16,643 religious exemption requests!

While this alone should have been enough to issue an injunction, the judge has now ordered each branch of the military to file a detailed report every 14 days beginning January 7. If the next report is like the first one, the judge will, no doubt, order the military and the Biden Department of Justice to honor the religious exemption requests.

In court, we argued that the military’s ongoing obfuscation is a ruse designed to hide the unlawful denial of service members’ rights protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

The judge stated that our claim was “quite plausible,” before putting the screws to the Biden administration.

The judge’s order specifically noted, “a person’s right to religious liberty [is] protected in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution and the explicit implementing commands of RFRA.” He then ordered the military to report to the court every 14 days on the status of every one of the religious exemption requests of service members.

I believe this is a very positive sign for our case and clients!

FIGHT the ATTACKS on RELIGIOUS FREEDOM with our Challenge Grant!

The military service branches must make their biweekly report to the court beginning January 7. The judge chose this date because the Department of Defense assured the court that no adverse action would be taken against anyone who has a pending religious exemption request until all appeals are exhausted.

Joe Biden’s military must make one of two choices now:

• Grant religious exemptions to service members.
• Admit to the courts every two weeks that they remain in violation of federal law by continuing to unlawfully deny armed forces members their RFRA right to refuse the COVID jabs. In this case, the judge will ORDER the military to abide by federal law and honor the religious exemption requests.

The Biden DOD can no longer hide in the dark and abuse our military heroes. What was done in secret is now being revealed.

We will see on January 7 which option Biden chooses, when the administration is forced to deliver the next report.

But according to our clients, who are already experiencing undue punishment, thus far it appears the Biden administration is taking the second option—digging in their heels in defiance of the judge, of the law and of the Constitution they are supposed to uphold.

Please be in prayer for a positive result as we continue litigating this behemoth of a case.

Please also be in prayer for the service members awaiting their fate. Our clients, some with well over 20 years in service, are being told they will not be allowed to retire without the shots.

Some of our other clients have been told they will be dishonorably discharged. Yet others have been told they will have to pay the cost of education, training and even their ticket home from remote military bases.

The lives and livelihoods of our clients and thousands of military members hang in the balance. Please pray for them!

Please pray also for the tens of thousands of others we represent in our other COVID shot mandate cases, including the health care workers and employers in our lawsuits against the governors of New York and Maine, as well as those unlawfully terminated—right before the holidays—by NorthShore University HealthSystem of Illinois, and of course, our ongoing work with the 35,000+ passenger and cargo transportation employees.

Biden’s insane and unlawful COVID shot orders have made for an intensely busy year defending religious freedom. That's why I am so thankful for THE opportunity to double the impact of your gift through our Challenge Grant. 

DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION with our Challenge Grant!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Sources:

“IL Hospital Unlawfully Discriminates against Employees over Shot Mandate - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. lc.org/newsroom/details/111221-il-hospital-unlawfully-discriminates-against-employees-over-shot-mandate.

“LC Seeks to Expedite Relief in Maine Health Care Case at SCOTUS - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. Accessed November 22, 2021. lc.org/newsroom/details/111821-lc-seeks-to-expedite-relief-in-maine-health-care-case-at-scotus-1.

“Liberty Counsel Challenges Biden’s Unlawful Shot Mandates - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. lc.org/newsroom/details/102621-liberty-counsel-challenges-bidens-unlawful-shot-mandates.

“Liberty Counsel Files Opening Brief at SCOTUS in Religious Viewpoint Case - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. Accessed November 22, 2021. lc.org/newsroom/details/111521-liberty-counsel-files-opening-brief-at-scotus-in-religious-viewpoint-case.

“Military under a Microscope and Federal Employees Entitled to Religious Exemption - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. Accessed November 23, 2021. https://lc.org/newsroom/details/112221-military-under-a-microscope-and-federal-employees-entitled-to-religious-exemption.

“New York Faith-Based Nursing Home Threatened with Shutdown over Shot Mandate - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. Accessed November 22, 2021. lc.org/newsroom/details/1119-new-york-faithbased-nursing-home-threatened-with-shutdown-over-shot-mandate-1.