U.S. judge blocks Pentagon from punishing Navy SEALs who refused COVID vaccine

A federal judge on Monday barred the U.S. Department of Defense from punishing a group of Navy SEALs and other special forces members who refused COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, acting in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 35 special forces service members, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Navy and Defense Department from enforcing the mandate.

Reed, who was appointed to the federal bench in Texas by President George W. Bush, said the Navy had not granted a single religious exemption to the vaccine rule.

"The Navy service members, in this case, seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect. The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms," the judge wrote in a 26-page decision.

The service members had faced a range of military discipline actions for refusing the vaccine.

First Liberty Institute, a legal organization dedicated to defending U.S. religious freedoms which represented the plaintiff service members, hailed the ruling as a victory.

"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, the institute's general counsel, said in a written statement.

Pentagon officials could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters on Monday evening.

The ruling marks the latest salvo in a string of legal fights over COVID-19 vaccine mandates ordered by President Joe Biden that have proven deeply controversial among conservatives.

X
Sitelerimizde reklam ve pazarlama faaliyetlerinin yürütülmesi amaçları ile çerezler kullanılmaktadır.

Bu çerezler, kullanıcıların tarayıcı ve cihazlarını tanımlayarak çalışır.

İnternet sitemizin düzgün çalışması, kişiselleştirilmiş reklam deneyimi, internet sitemizi optimize edebilmemiz, ziyaret tercihlerinizi hatırlayabilmemiz için veri politikasındaki amaçlarla sınırlı ve mevzuata uygun şekilde çerez konumlandırmaktayız.

Bu çerezlere izin vermeniz halinde sizlere özel kişiselleştirilmiş reklamlar sunabilir, sayfalarımızda sizlere daha iyi reklam deneyimi yaşatabiliriz. Bunu yaparken amacımızın size daha iyi reklam bir deneyimi sunmak olduğunu ve sizlere en iyi içerikleri sunabilmek adına elimizden gelen çabayı gösterdiğimizi ve bu noktada, reklamların maliyetlerimizi karşılamak noktasında tek gelir kalemimiz olduğunu sizlere hatırlatmak isteriz.