(Boise, ID) Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Idaho Army National Guard infantry officer against Governor Brad Little and two army generals for unlawfully removing the officer from command solely due to his personal Christian expression on biblical sexuality made outside of the military environment. An investigation into the officer, which revealed no wrongdoing, nevertheless recommended a policy to monitor potential candidates for command for any “concerning ideologies” as a way of “rooting out” any “extremism” in the ranks. In this case, the decision to remove him from command on this basis shows that his superiors believe his Bible-centered beliefs on sexuality to be concerning and essentially puts an unconstitutional “No Christians in Command” policy into action.
The investigation noted that the Idaho Army National Guard should consider “creating a policy…of conducting public records search on the Internet and on popular social media sites to see how a selected candidate portrays themselves publicly,” and that candidates for command be “scrutinized to ensure there is no concerning information within the public domain.”
In the lawsuit, Liberty Counsel contends that despite finding no evidence of wrongdoing by the officer, the Idaho Army National Guard affirmed the investigation’s policy recommendation by ordering the officer removed from command “for the mere exercise and expression of his religious views.”
These discriminatory actions violate the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Idaho Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act. Liberty Counsel seeks a permanent injunction against the discrimination of Christians in the Idaho Army National Guard and a temporary restraining order for it to restore the officer and cease all efforts to force him out of the military.
In addition to Gov. Little, the lawsuit names Adjutant General of the Idaho National Guard Major General Timothy J. Donnellan and the Assistant Adjutant General for the Idaho Army National Guard Brigadier General James C. Packwood.
The events that led to this unjustifiable policy began when Major David Worley, an infantry officer, ran for mayor in Pocatello, Idaho. During Worley’s political campaign, which he conducted strictly outside his military duties, he expressed his religious convictions and moral objections to certain issues relevant to political discourse in his community. He expressed his opposition to issues involving so-called “Drag Queen Story Hours,” pornographic material for minors in public libraries, and the medical mutilation of gender-confused children. All of Worley’s protected speech occurred off-duty in his private capacity and before he took command of the Idaho Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention unit.
In 2023, a subordinate senior enlisted man under Worley’s command, who claims to be homosexual and is ideologically opposed to Worley’s religious beliefs, filed a formal discrimination complaint against Worley. Despite only meeting Worley twice without incident, the complaining guardsman alleged he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation and that Worley created a hostile work environment. The complaining guardsman noted he felt “threatened and unsafe” merely due to Worley’s beliefs.
However, Worley’s Christian beliefs denote that all people are made in God’s image and have inherent dignity and are worthy of respect. He is committed to serving those under his command, regardless of political or religious disagreements, and would give his life in defense of his state and nation. As a result, the Idaho Army National Guard suspended Worley from command in July 2023 following the complaint and then illegally pressured him to resign without benefit of any counsel or notice. He rescinded his notice two hours later after contacting Liberty Counsel.
The Idaho Army National Guard then proceeded with a formal investigation into the complaint. Ultimately, General Packwood found the complaints from the complaining guardsman were unsubstantiated and found no evidence Worley did anything wrong in the workplace. Yet, out of the investigation came the recommendation that all candidates for command be scrutinized to ensure any concerning expression is discovered, reported to the Department of Defense, and investigated for extremist activity. Accordingly, General Packwood concluded Worley’s religious beliefs were “toxic” and removed him from command solely due to those protected religious views.
“The ‘No Christians in Command’ policy constitutes a religious gerrymander by unconstitutionally orphaning sincerely held religious beliefs while permitting the more favored nonreligious value systems,” wrote Liberty Counsel. “On its face and as applied, [the policy] lacks any rational basis and is irrational and unjustifiable.”
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that military members do not shed their constitutional rights when they step forward to serve the nation. Nor are the military departments immune to the laws protecting their individual freedoms. By suspending and removing Major David Worley from command over his Christian beliefs, the Idaho Army National Guard informally adopted an unconstitutional ‘No Christians in Command’ policy. The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs or to specifically target religion for disparate and discriminatory treatment. Governor Brad Little must ensure that the Idaho Army National Guard upholds federal and state law and protects the free speech of its service members. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored.”
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