Minot AFB defends itself from political bias claims over conservative rally

The Minot Air Force Base is defending itself from claims of political bias after an unofficial message cautioning airmen to not attend a conservative political rally began circulating on social media.

At issue is the Dakota Patriot Rally, an event held Friday in Minot featuring a pro-Trump group known as Turning Point Action.

A message that was re-posted to a public social media page and was purported to be from base leadership warned that the speaker was from an “alt-right organization.” It said that “participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the U.S. military.”

The base responded that the initial message was based “on incorrect data and sent outside of official base messaging platforms.” It said that it subsequently corrected the message traffic to categorize the event as a local political fundraiser and stressed that there was no issue with military members participating as long as they complied with regulations such as not wearing their uniforms.

“All Air Force Airmen have a Constitutional right to freedom of assembly,” the post said.

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(Statement from Minot AFB: )

Minot Air Force Base is aware that an unofficial message about a local event in the City of Minot was sent in a text message group.

The message was 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.

That said there are some limitations placed on an Airman’s ability to participate in political events in an official capacity. These limitations are set by ethical guidelines in the Code of Federal Regulations in order to maintain the politically neutral stance of the US Military.