Attention Feds for Freedom (F4F) friends, supporters, and members. One of our close partners, Children’s Health Defense (CHD), has just dropped the first amendment to their historic case, (CHD et al. v. Hegseth, No. 1:25-cv-04363-ACR). The religious accommodation process during COVID was deliberately and maliciously applied to cause maximum harm to individuals with deeply held religious beliefs. It was meant to demoralize and expunge conservative voices from the federal workforce. This litigation addresses the key lever used to cause that harm: the accommodation process.
The case focuses on Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Religious Freedom Reformation Act (RFRA), and Free Exercise Clause violations. F4F appreciates the legal focus on the procedural violations (APA), as well as the violations that cross into fundamental rights. It is often difficult to marry the two disparate lines of attack in court. F4F’s case against the CIA focuses solely on APA violations, while religious violations are being handled through a separate EEO process.
(If you would like to help F4F’s case against the CIA, please donate here.)
The amended CHD complaint filed on 25 July 2026 adds three active-duty Air Force plaintiffs.
Lt. Col. Benjamin Leiby — requested a religious exemption from flu/tetanus-diphtheria vaccines in May 2023; a Religious Resolution Team unanimously recommended approval in December 2023, but no decision has ever issued.
SSgt Brittany Puckett — requested exemption from all vaccines; denied October 2025 despite her chaplain, flight surgeon, and squadron commander all recommending approval; her appeal has sat before the Air Force Surgeon General for over nine months, past the 30-business-day deadline. Days before filing, a chaplain told her the system showed no active case and gave her blank forms to start over.
Maj. Brennan Schilperoort — got a partial accommodation in 2023 (exempted from Td, denied for flu). When he filed a new request, his commander refused to process it and reprimanded him instead, triggering a discharge board and three months of no-pay status. The Air Force’s own Inspector General, Review Boards Agency, and Board for Correction of Military Records later found this unlawful and ordered relief, though the complaint says that relief hasn’t been fully delivered (e.g., he’s not expected to requalify to fly until 2027).
CHD submitted the initial complaint on its own behalf on 16 December 2025, naming only Hegseth as defendant. We all know that the Pentagon’s religious-exemption process was a sham. It dishonored itself and the armed services with a 98% denial rate for religious accommodation requests. CHD’s case is challenging DoD’s wholesale adoption of the CDC childhood vaccine schedule and failure to properly address accommodation requests.
We believe CHD has found a viable legal path forward and will be watching this case closely.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.