Updated March 29, 2022
On 3/28/22, it appears the federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Conner in the US District Court, Northern District of Texas has granted a “Class Action Status” to the Navy Seals in their lawsuit against DOD Lloyd Austin.
Access the Complete Class Action Court Filing here
March 25, 2022
According to the Daily Caller, SCOTUS put the Texas U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor January stay on hold “that the Navy must grant religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate to those who request them, but that commanders could not alter the assignments of troops based on their vaccination status”.
“Six of the nine justices on the court ruled that the Commander-in-Chief, not a judge, is ultimately in charge of the armed forces”. Dissent “from Justices Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas with Alito writing “in a dissent separate from the others that the troops suing seemed to have been treated “shabbily” by the Navy, which denied their requests for religious accommodations to the vaccine mandate”.
Access the Full SCOTUS Filing here
January 3, 2022
Kyle Becker from Becker News, a trusted source reported on January 3, 2022, the First Liberty Institute announced:
“The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas today issued a preliminary injunction, stopping the Department of Defense from punishing military service members who have religious objections to the vaccine mandate,” the non-profit group said in its announcement. “First Liberty Institute filed a federal lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction on behalf of dozens of U.S. Navy SEALs and other Naval Special Warfare personnel against the Biden Administration and the Department of Defense for their refusal to grant religious accommodations to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
“Forcing a service member to choose between their faith and serving their country is abhorrent to the Constitution and America’s values,” said Mike Berry, General Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. We’re pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security.”
