(The Center Square) – A former U.S. Marine staff sergeant is still fighting the U.S. Marine Corps after his Religious Accommodation Request (RAR) was denied and he was discharged over a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which has since been rescinded.
The legal battle includes him being forced to repay a bonus he was awarded for reenlisting in the Marines.
Former U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Mitchell Schaefer submitted an RAR on Aug. 12, 2021, which was denied three months later, according to his legal case. His appeal was denied, and he was ordered to receive a COVID-19 shot by Dec. 13, 2021. He replied by stating he couldn’t follow an unlawful order. The USMC denied his rebuttal and discharged him May 3, 2022, claiming his discharge was honorable but put in his file it was for “misconduct.”
Additionally, the USMC charged Schaefer $17,878.23, the remaining balance of a bonus he was given for reenlisting, after it also took away his last paycheck. Doing so left him without any funds to transition to civilian life, he says. He’s required to pay the USMC $504.31 a month or be reported to a collection agency, he says. Because he couldn’t afford to find housing for his family of four, he says they were forced to live with his parents.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Liberty Counsel, the Orlando-based religious freedom legal organization representing him and other military members, filed a response to the DOD requesting a federal court dismiss their lawsuit. In it, 15 military members and USMC class action plaintiffs oppose the DOD’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and allege branch-wide violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The DOD has sought to dismiss Schaefer’s case, and others like it, arguing they are moot because its Aug. 24, 2021, and Nov. 30, 2021, mandates were rescinded last December in compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act President Joe Biden signed into law. However, in his most recent guidance, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he retains the authority to reinstate a COVID-19 mandate in the future and “will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all Service members.” He’s also yet to acknowledge that branch-wide rejections of RARs violated the RFRA.
The NDAA only required the DOD to rescind its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, not address adverse consequences, retaliation or other disciplinary measures beyond separation or discharge, Liberty Counsel argues.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver maintains, “Repealing the COVID shot mandate for military members does not moot this case. Joe Biden and the Department of Defense continue to argue courts have no jurisdiction over the military, an argument that the courts have soundly rejected.”
The “history of this case clearly demonstrates the open violation of the First Amendment,” he said, and the RFRA, which is why “a permanent injunction and declaratory relief is necessary to stop the ongoing violation of RFRA.”
“Repealing the COVID shot mandate for military members does not end the abuse our service members have endured,” he added. “Our military members who love God and America have been horribly abused and they must be honored again. The Biden administration must push the reset button, stop the abuse, and rectify the wrongs done to our brave military heroes.”
Those who objected to the mandate on religious grounds argue taking the experimental drug didn’t prevent transmission of the coronavirus and its use of aborted fetal cells violated their sincerely held religious beliefs. Nearly all RARs were denied across all military branches and service members faced “cruel and unusual punishment,” demotion and dishonorable discharge, according to briefs filed with the court.
To address ongoing problems in the military associated with the mandate, Republicans in Congress recently filed bills to require the DOD to reinstate service members separated solely for COVID-19 vaccine status who want to return, credit their retirement pay, restore their rank, and compensate them for pay and benefits lost due to demotions, among other measures.
