America First Legal (AFL), a group led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, requested records from the Pentagon as part of efforts to determine whether the department was monitoring and targeting certain service members based on their political ideology.
The group on Friday sent a Freedom of Information Act request asking the department to release records relating to “policies or plans to monitor or survey the social media accounts of uniformed service members, contractors, and/or civilian employees.” It also asks for information on any pilot programs, working groups, or steering committees developed or tasked to do the same.
In its letter, the group said that its request stems from concerns of “multiple and facially credible reports of ‘anti-conservative purges’ within DOD.” It cited the Space Force’s recent move to relieve Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier over allegations that he was “politically partisan” when he denounced the spread of Marxism in the military.
Lohmeier was relieved of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron over “public comments” in an interview the department deemed to be “partisan political activity.”
The comments, which were made in a podcast, warned about the spread of Marxist ideology within the military and the detrimental consequences of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s agenda to push critical race theory.
The group alleges that the department may be “weaponizing” an instruction related to the handling of dissident and protest activities of service members to target political conservatives and Christian members of the military.
“It appears hyper-partisan civilians may be weaponizing this Instruction to facilitate deeply racist and offensive ‘Critical Race Theory’ principles, to undermine the military’s traditional apolitical role, and to support an ‘ideological cleansing’ of political conservatives and believing Christians from the military,” the group alleged in their letter (pdf).
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
BY JANITA KAN
