Judge Orders Air Force Not to Punish Members Seeking Religious Exemptions to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Air Force officials were ordered on July 27 not to discipline airmen who are seeking religious exemptions to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

U.S. District Judge Matthew McFarland, a Trump appointee, entered a preliminary injunction against the military branch.

McFarland two weeks earlier issued a temporary restraining order. He asked the military to make its case as to why he shouldn’t enter a preliminary injunction, a longer-lasting measure.

In a 16-page filing, government lawyers said blocking the military from punishing unvaccinated members “would interfere with ongoing legal proceedings and would otherwise be improper, particularly in light of significant new developments.”