Soldiers attending a pre-deployment briefing at Fort Hood say they were told that evangelical Christians and members of the Tea Party were a threat to the nation and that any soldier donating to those groups would be subjected to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. A soldier who attended the Oct. 17th briefing told me the counter-intelligence agent in charge of the meeting spent nearly a half hour discussing how evangelical Christians and groups like the American Family Association were "tearing the country apart." Michael Berry, an attorney with the Liberty Institute, is advising the soldier and has launched an investigation into the incident. "On the very base that was the site of mass murder carried out by a radicalized Muslim soldier, it is astonishing that it is evangelical groups that are being identified as a 'threat.'" - Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president "The American public should be outraged that the U.S. Army is teaching our troops that evangelical Christians and Tea Party members are enemies of America, and that they can be punished for supporting or participating in those groups," said Berry, a former Marine Corps JAG officer. "These statements about evangelicals being domestic enemies are a serious charge." The soldier told me he fears reprisals and asked not to be identified. He said there was a blanket statement that donating to any groups that were considered a threat to the military and government was punishable under military regulations. "My first concern was if I was going to be in trouble going to church," the evangelical Christian soldier told me. "Can I tithe? Can I donate to Christian charities? What if I donate to a politician who is a part of the Tea Party movement?" Another soldier who attended the briefing alerted the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. That individual's recollections of the briefing matched the soldier who reached out to me. "I was very shocked and couldn't believe what I was hearing," the soldier said. "I felt like my religious liberties, that I risk my life and sacrifice time away from family to fight for, were being taken away." And while a large portion of the briefing dealt with the threat evangelicals and the Tea Party pose to the nation, barely a word was said about Islamic extremism, the soldier said. "Our community is still healing from the act of terrorism brought on by Nidal Hasan -- who really is a terrorist," the soldier said. "This is a slap in the face. "The military is supposed to defend freedom and to classify the vast majority of the military that claim to be Christian as terrorists is sick." Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, tells me the Pentagon is pushing anti-Christian propaganda. "On the very base that was the site of mass murder carried out by a radicalized Muslim soldier, it is astonishing that it is evangelical groups that are being identified as a 'threat,'" he said. "Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel must immediately intervene to stop this march against the rights and freedom of our soldiers." The soldier said they were also told that the pro-life movement is another example of "radicalization." "They said that evangelical Christians protesting abortions are the mobilization stage and that leads to the bombing of abortion clinics," he said, recalling the discussion. An Army spokesman at the Pentagon tells me they do not maintain or publish a list of organizations considered extremist. "None of these slides [shown at the briefing] were produced by the Army, but by soldiers who included information found during an Internet search," the spokesman said. He said commanders and other leaders were cautioned that they should not use "lists of extremists, hate groups, radical factions or the like compiled by any outside non-governmental groups or organizations for briefings, command presentations, or as a short cut to determining if a group or activity is considered to be extremist." Meanwhile, the public affairs office at Fort Hood is denying the soldiers' allegations. "The allegations you are asking about were brought to the attention of the Fort Hood leadership immediately and a (sic) inquiry is occurring," read a statement from Tom Rheinlander, the public affairs director at Fort Hood. "At this time, initial information gathered about the training and what you claim occurred is not substantiated by unit leadership and soldiers present at this training venue." I sent the public affairs officer additional questions about the specific content of the briefing but he declined to respond. But this is not the first time an Army briefing has labeled evangelicals as extremists. Last April an Army Reserve briefing classified Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as "religious extremism."

• published: 27 Oct 2013
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