This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

'The Constitution simply does not allow the military to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs'

A legal team representing an Idaho Army National Guard officer who is suing over his removal over his Christian beliefs is seeking a default judgment against Gov. Brad Little and two Guard generals for failing to respond to the lawsuit.

Maj. David Worley's lawsuit, in which he is represented by Liberty Counsel, charges he was removed from his command for expressing his personal views on biblical sexuality in a forum that was outside the military.

Little has filed a motion to dismiss, but he and the two generals, Adjutant General of the Idaho National Guard Major General Timothy J. Donnellan and the Assistant Adjutant General Brigadier General James C. Packwood, have declined to respond to or oppose Worley's specific discrimination complaint under the federal court's timeline rules, according to the legal team.

Liberty Counsel is requesting the court find the three defendants in default and grant the injunction to cease all ongoing efforts to discipline and remove Worley from the military.

"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. Major Worley was unquestionably the target of an unconstitutional investigation and removal. 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. This discrimination against Major Worley must stop and his record must be cleared and his career restored," explained Liberty Counsel chief Mat Staver.

The background is that there was complaint from an LGBT-linked individual when Worley, outside of his military duties, ran for mayor of his town years ago.

Liberty Counsel explained, "While a 2023 investigation into Worley revealed no wrongdoing, officials nevertheless recommended a policy to screen potential candidates for command for any 'concerning ideologies' as a way of 'rooting out' any 'extremism' in the ranks. Accordingly, General Packwood concluded Worley's religious beliefs were 'toxic' and removed him from command solely due to those protected religious views. With Gov. Little as the commander-in-chief of the Idaho Army National Guard, as well as General Donnellan failing to rectify these actions, the decision to remove Worley from command on this basis essentially shows that these officials put an unconstitutional 'No Christians in Command' policy into effect.

"Worley's lawsuit states that these discriminatory actions are penalizing the 'mere exercise and expression' of religious views and violate the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Idaho Free Exercise of Religious Protection Act."
Given the absence of a response, Liberty Counsel moved in the court seeking a default judgment.

For failing to respond to these allegations, Liberty Counsel noted in its motion that "silence is a concession" and that Worley is entitled to a preliminary injunction.

In Little's motion to dismiss, he has claimed immunity under the 11th Amendment, which protects states from certain lawsuits.

"However, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that lawsuits can move forward against government officials for violations of federal law," Liberty Counsel said.

It was during Worley's run for mayor of Pocatello when he expressed his religious convictions and moral objections to certain political movements, such as "Drag Queen Story Hours," pornographic material for minors in public libraries, and the medical mutilation of gender-confused children.

The comments were off-duty and in his private capacity, and before he was given command of the Idaho Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention unit. The complaint came from an enlisted man, "who claims to be homosexual and is ideologically opposed to Worley's religious beliefs," Liberty Counsel said.

The complaint included that the enlisted man felt "threatened" because of Worley's biblical beliefs.