EN BANC 6TH CIRCUIT DECISION CAUTIONS MILITARY FROM VIOLATING RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF ITS MEMBERS

CINCINNATI, April 17, 2023 -- On April 17, 2023, the United States 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order denying the Department of the Air Force's petition for rehearing en banc of its prior decisions in favor of protecting the religious liberty of members of the Air and Space Force to refuse a Covid-19 vaccine for religious reasons.

Army Strong. From left to right: Attorney John Sullivan, Attorney Wendy Cox, SSG Bobby Schelske, SSG Joshua Costroff, Cadet Dominic Mell, Attorney Tom Bruns, Attorney Chris Wiest.

The Honorable Judge Raymond Kethledge, joined by Judges Thapar, Bush, and Murphy, stated in a concurring statement: "In this case, our opinions will stand as a caution against violating the Free Exercise rights of men and women in uniform—which, by all appearances, is what the Air Force did here."

Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at Siri & Glimstad LLP; Chris Wiest, Attorney at Law, PLLC; and Thomas Bruns, with Bruns, Connell, Vollmar & Armstrong, LLC. Case documents relating to this class action, including the class-wide preliminary injunction order, are available at: https://www.sirillp.com/airforce/.

A link to today's decision is available at: https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/23a0076p-06.pdf

SOURCE Siri & Glimstad LLP