XPost: alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.misc, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.military   
   From: leroysoetoro@americans-first.com   
      
   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.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)