Wichita, Kansas — Former Kansas Secretary of State and candidate for Attorney General, Kris Kobach, filed suit today against the Biden administration on behalf of 36 airmen in the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.
In the suit filed in the U.S. District Court, the Kansas and Nebraska Airmen are challenging the legality of President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. They are seeking a religious exemption that so far, the Air Force has denied.
“No member of the military should have to choose between following his religious convictions and continuing to serve our country,” Kobach said in a press conference near the entrance to McConnell Air Force Base. “It’s a travesty when the very men and women who defend our Constitution from external threats are seeing their own constitutional liberties trampled.”
Most of the airmen filing suit are stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita or Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha. Nearly half of the plaintiffs –17– are Air Force pilots. They face discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces unless they violate their sincerely held religious beliefs and accept the COVID-19 shot.
“The U.S. taxpayers invested roughly $5.5 million each in their training,” Kobach said. “It would be a massive waste of taxpayer dollars to fire them.”