by Micaela Burrow
Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana is pressuring the Air Force to conduct an investigation of text messages warning against attending a conservative rally, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
A master sergeant at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota urged leaders to caution their troops about the potential for violence aimed at military members at a conservative rally or participating in the featured political advocacy group in leaked text messages on November 17, Fox News first reported. Banks, who chairs the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee and heads the chamber’s Anti-Woke Caucus, said the texts from an unidentified leader defamed a conservative organization and interfered in an Airman’s right to free assembly and the political process, the letter stated.
“If Eighth Air Force and 5th Bomber Wing leadership do not carry out a full investigation of and take the appropriate disciplinary action against the servicemember who wrote the text message, it will, in essence, have permitted an airman to threaten servicemembers who hold conservative beliefs, to falsely smear a conservative organization as ‘alt-right’ and to interfere in the political process,” Banks wrote.
The text message referred to a guest speaker who represents Turning Point Action, which the leader characterized as “alt-right.”
“Additionally, please remind them that participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the U.S. military,” the text message read.
Tyler Bower, Turning Point Action chief operating officer and speaker in question, is a “conservative activist,” according to Turning Point USA’s website. The group has a history of support for former President Donald Trump.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point Action, raised immediate outcry after screenshots of the text messages surfaced on an anonymously-run Facebook page, The Associated Press reported.
An Air Force spokesperson earlier told Banks that “one of our Security Forces members identified a potential concern with Airmen participating in the event,” according to the letter. “Without appropriate coordination a Master Sergeant sent an unofficial message to his peer group – First Sergeants across the wing – to warn them of a perceived security concern related to the event.”
Banks demanded Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of the Eighth Air Force, release more information about the circumstances behind the text messages and what justified the “potential concern” surrounding the rally at the center of the controversy.
Minot leadership acknowledged the message in a statement on November 21 but labeled it as “unofficial … based on incorrect data and sent outside of official base messaging platforms.”
“Once the error was identified, base security officials corrected the message traffic to categorize the event as a local political fundraiser, with no security concerns. Further, the updated message communicated there were no issues with military members participating in their personal capacity – in line with their First Amendment rights. All Air Force Airmen have a Constitutional right to freedom of assembly,” the statement continued.
It’s common for military leaders to communicate with subordinates and lower-level leaders via group text messages. However, Air Force regulations to maintain the professional, apolitical character of the military forbade U.S. troops from participating in political activities or attending openly partisan gatherings while wearing their military uniforms.
“Airmen may attend partisan political rallies or speeches when not in uniform, not on duty, and when solely acting as a spectator,” the regulation states.
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Micaela Burrow is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
