A retired Air Force sergeant who was forcibly removed two years ago
from a military retirement ceremony as he recited a traditional passage
honoring the flag filed a lawsuit Monday, claiming he was ousted for
mentioning the word "God."
Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez was invited to speak
at an April 3, 2016 ceremony by an outgoing fellow master sergeant from
the 749th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Video of the event showed
Rodriguez being physically removed by service members at Travis Air
Force Base in California as he was delivering a flag-folding speech.
On Monday, two years after the incident, Rodriguez sued
the U.S. Air Force, demanding an apology and admission of wrongdoing.
In an interview with Fox News, he claimed his First Amendment rights
were violated.
"This is about my constitutional right," Rodriguez said of the suit.
"I was removed from the speech because my script
mentioned God. Air force officials did not want me to utter those
words," he told Fox News. "There was no direct communication between the
Air Force and myself to forbid me from making this speech."
The U.S. Air Force declined to comment Monday on
pending litigation. In a statement released last year, officials said,
"Evidence indicated Mr. Rodriguez was removed by members of the squadron
because he attempted to participate in the ceremony even though his
participation had been disapproved by the hosting squadron commander...
When it became clear that Mr. Rodriguez intended to act inconsistent
with the commander's restrictions he was removed by several squadron
NCOs (noncommissioned officers). The inquiry found no evidence that the
NCOs were motivated to impair Mr. Rodriguez's constitutional rights of
freedom of speech or religion."
At the time of the event, a spokeswoman from the
reserve told Fox News the confrontation stemmed from "an unplanned
participation" at the event.
"Rodriguez ignored numerous requests to respect the Air
Force prescribed ceremony and unfortunately was forcibly removed," a
Travis official said in a statement to Fox News following the incident.
Rodriguez claimed his recitation of an old version of
the "Flag Folding Ceremony Air Force Script," which was later scrubbed
because of religious references, prompted his ouster. Rodriguez
delivered the speech at the request of Master Sgt. Chuck Roberson, who
was retiring from the U.S. Air Force after 33 years of service.
"Let us pray that God will reflect with admiration the
willingness of one nation in her attempts to rid the world of tyranny,
oppression, and misery," part of the flag-folding speech reads. "It is
this one nation under God that we call, with honor, the United States of
America."
The speech closes with the words, "God bless our flag. God bless our troops. God bless America."
Even though the Air Force revised the script in 2006,
Rodriguez claimed it was his right -- and Roberson's right -- to invoke
the older version.
Lawyers representing Rodriguez said Monday that the
dispute between the veteran and the Air Force was over his plans to
recite a speech mentioning God. Rodriguez was known on the base to
recite such passages, and Air Force officials tried to prevent him from
doing so at the retirement ceremony, his attorneys claimed.
"[The U.S. Air Force] did not have the authority to ban
him from the base and they did not have the authority to ban him from
participating in the ceremony," said Hiram Sasser, general counsel for
First Liberty Institute and one of the lead attorneys in the case. First
Liberty identifies itself as a legal team "dedicated exclusively to
protecting religious liberty for all Americans."
Rodriguez sued the U.S. Air Force, demanding an apology and admission of wrongdoing.
(FirstLiberty.org)
The complaint -- filed late Monday -- claimed officers
at the base exchanged an email shortly after the incident. In that
email, an officer -- whose name was redacted -- suggested filing assault
charges against the men who removed Rodriguez from the ceremony, the
lawsuit stated. Rodriguez's attorney said they believe that email
bolsters their case.
According to a U.S. Air Force official, flag folding
scripts that are religious in nature can be used for retirement
ceremonies. "I can't speak to the specific incident," Ann Stefanek, an
Air Force spokeswoman, told Fox News in 2016. "[But] Air Force personnel
may use a flag folding ceremony script that is religious for retirement
ceremonies."
Stefanek continued, "Since retirement ceremonies are
personal in nature, the script preference for a flag folding ceremony is
at the discretion of the individual being honored and represents the
member's views, not those of the Air Force."
In a statement to Fox News, Roberson confirmed that it
was his wish to have Rodriguez recite the speech at his retirement
ceremony.
"I wanted the ceremony to reflect the American values I
spent my career defending – respect for God, family, and
country," Roberson said.
"I couldn’t believe what happened. I still can’t
believe it. All I want now is for the Air Force to apologize for ruining
this once in a lifetime moment but they refuse to do so," he said.