Military personnel suspended for social media posts tied to Charlie Kirk's death

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/military-personnel-suspended-social-media-
posts-tied-charlie/story?id=125678845

Several people at the Defense Department have been temporarily suspended 
from their jobs and dozens of online posts were under review, service 
officials said Wednesday, as the U.S. military scrambled to act on 
Secretary Pete Hegseth's demand to punish anyone allegedly celebrating the 
death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

It's not clear whether the ongoing reviews by the Army, Air Force, Navy 
and Marine Corps will result in more than a few people briefly suspended 
of their duties with pay because of the legal complexities involved and 
First Amendment rights.

Any resulting court case within the Defense Department's own legal system 
could result in counter lawsuits, which could drag on for months.

In general, uniformed military personnel are allowed to express their 
political opinions so long as they do so using their personal accounts and 
in their own capacity, on their personal time and not in uniform.

But both uniformed and civilian personnel are subject to social media 
standards outlined by the services, which prohibit bad online behavior 
such as bullying, discrimination and harassment.

They also are prohibited from engaging in social media that promotes or 
endorses extremist activities -- a policy pushed during the Biden 
administration to address concerns about extremism within the ranks 
following the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

"Commanders at all levels shall not tolerate online social media conduct 
that violates the law or fails to live up to our core values," wrote Air 
Force Secretary Troy Meink in a new all-hands memo released to personnel 
on Wednesday.

In the hours following Kirk's death, Hegseth's top aides suggested that 
anyone working for the military who mocked or celebrated Kirk's death 
would face criminal charges under the military's own legal system.

In posts on X, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said such online 
posts violate a person's oath of military service and can result in 
charges under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ, while 
Hegseth said he'd be tracking the cases "very closely."

"It's a violation of the oath, conduct unbecoming, it's a betrayal of the 
Americans they've sworn to protect & dangerously incompatible with 
military service," Parnell wrote.

Parnell declined to answer several questions about how the standard would 
be applied, including whether posts unrelated to Kirk but referencing 
other acts of political violence would prompt a review.

"Every service member and civilian at the Department takes an oath to 
defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Those in 
our ranks who rejoice at an act of domestic terrorism are unfit to serve 
the American people at the Department of War," he wrote.

When asked how many cases Hegseth's office has tracked so far, Pentagon 
Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson on Wednesday referred questions to the 
individual services. Service officials contacted by ABC News said Hegseth 
hadn't issued any new directive or policy and that they were mostly 
looking at whether posts reported to commanders had violated existing 
social media protocols.

One Army official said "numerous people" have been suspended pending 
investigation and that "dozens" of social media posts are under review. 
Another defense official said one Marine been suspended pending 
investigation and a small number of other cases involving Marine Corps 
personnel were under review.

In each of those cases, the person would still receive pay while their 
case plays out, officials said.

The Air Force and Navy declined to say how many posts were under 
investigation and whether anyone had been put on leave.

The Navy said only that it was "actively reviewing reports related to 
Sailors' social media activity that is misaligned with the Department's 
current social media guidance."

"Service members are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice at 
all times, including behavior conducted in the digital space. Sailors are 
expected to uphold Navy core values on duty, off duty, and online," 
according to a Navy statement.

An Air Force spokesperson said that "as commanders verify inappropriate 
actions, they are taking the necessary administrative and disciplinary 
actions to hold service members accountable."

In his memo to all personnel, the Air Force's Meink said there was "no 
room for ambiguity" and called for "full compliance with all laws and 
regulations governing speech and political action."

"Airman and guardians are personally responsible for what they say and do, 
and this includes social media. You must avoid any social media posts that 
unlawfully attack or demean a person or group based on characteristics 
such as race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or political beliefs," 
he wrote.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.