Liberty Counsel filed a renewed motion to certify the entire class and for a classwide preliminary injunction from Judge Steven Merryday on behalf of those members who currently serve in the United States Coast Guard and have been denied religious exemptions from the Department of Defense’s unlawful COVID shot mandate.
Liberty Counsel’s plaintiffs are Coast Guard members who refuse to receive an injection that violates their sincerely held religious beliefs since all of the COVID shots are associated with aborted fetal cells. They have been unlawfully refused any religious exemption or accommodation. Their deadlines to become fully vaccinated have passed, and disciplinary actions have already commenced. Relief is needed now to prevent these military heroes from facing discharge, court martial, other life-altering disciplinary procedures, and termination.
- Lieutenant Commander Pilot (LCDR Pilot) has served honorably on active duty for over 13 years. He has 3,010 military flight hours along with 234 simulator hours and has served in operational tours in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. He has served as the HC-130J Engineering Officer and the unit’s Assistant Engineering Officer. He estimates the cost of his training to exceed $10 million over 13 years of military aviation. This LCDR Pilot has received two commendation medals.
- Lieutenant 2 is a Christian who has sincerely held religious objections to injecting anything into his body that contains the product of aborted fetal cells. He believes every life is fearfully and wonderfully made and that accepting an injection in any way associated with aborted fetal cells represents a grave sin and major moral problem.
- Avionics Electrical Technician 1 (AET1) is a Petty Officer First Class who has faithfully served in the Coast Guard for almost 19 years. AET1 is a Navigator on HC-130H aircraft and currently runs the training program and flight schedules at his air station, which is the only Coast Guard air station flying HC-130H aircraft. There is a shortage of Navigators in the Coast Guard, and AET1 is the only Navigator at his air station trained to perform his training function.
- Marine Science Technician 3 is a Christian who has sincerely held religious objections to injecting anything into her body that contains the product of aborted fetal cells. She also noted that injecting an mRNA vaccine into her body is accepting a synthetic product that alters God’s design for her.
- Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate is a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard Reserve and leads a department of dedicated young servicemembers whom he mentors and loves. Senior Chief has over 23 years of faithful, uninterrupted service and zero disciplinary action. His primary operational duties and responsibilities throughout his career have revolved around the safe operation and navigation of multiple small craft.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Even though these courageous Coast Guard heroes have been threatened with termination and separation, many were recently deployed to south Florida to rescue victims of Hurricane Ian. Not one person who was helped by these heroes was concerned whether they had received the COVID shot. Yet the Department of Defense continues to violate the law and ignore their religious freedom. This must end.”
