Military looks into claims atheist soldier was harassed
Published 10:39 pm Sunday, September 23, 2007
TOPEKA, Kan. — Military officials are investigating an Army specialist’s allegations that he was harassed for being an atheist but said Saturday they have found no trace of the officer listed as a defendant in the soldier’s lawsuit.
Spc. Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit this past week against a Maj. Paul Welborne and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The suit, in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges that Welborne threatened to file military charges against Hall and to block his re-enlistment for trying to hold a meeting of atheists and non-Christians in Iraq. Hall is in Iraq with the 97th Military Police Battalion out of Fort Riley.
The suit also alleges Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged to pressure soldiers to adopt and espouse fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Hall has said he feared for his safety after being shoved against a wall in a hallway by fellow soldiers who objected to his lawsuit. Bloggers have also referred to “fragging” Hall, or killing him by friendly fire.
