Fifteen marines filed an amended complaint against the U.S. Department of Defense last week, seeking a court injunction against disciplinary action being taken against them by the Marine Corps.
The complaint was filed following the marines’ failed attempts to secure religious exemptions to the Marine Corps’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Liberty Counsel, the nonprofit religious interest group representing the 15 marines, issued a news release on July 1, stating, “The plaintiffs are Marines who face a deadline 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 refused any religious exemption or accommodation. These service members had until November 28, 2021, to become fully vaccinated. However, these dates have passed, and disciplinary actions have already commenced.”
“No service member should be forced to choose between serving God and serving country,” stated Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver. “The Department of Defense continues to violate the law and ignore their religious freedom. This lawlessness must end.”
Liberty Counsel filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, listing Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin and Marine Corps head Gen. David H. Berger as defendants.
As reported in The Dallas Express, numerous servicemen and servicewomen have resorted to litigation in an attempt to evade vaccination against COVID-19 on the basis of religious belief.