Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Gary Stein, who's facing dismissal for his Anti-Obama Facebook posts, is suing members of his chain of command for alleged First Amendment violations in an attempt to stop his impending dismissal hearing. Stein supporter and SoCal Patriots founder Jeff Schwilk wrote in an email to Home Post:
Sgt. Stein and his team of attorneys are fighting back against the discharge proceedings and hearing scheduled by Stein’s Commanding Officer, Col. Dowling at MCRD San Diego. Stein has been accused of “serious offenses” by his command for posting his personal political opinions on Facebook.
According to a blog post written Schwilk, Stein's civilian attorney sent a letter to Col. Dowling requesting he stop dismissal proceedings. According to Schwilk:
Sgt. Stein’s attorneys plan to seek relief in court this week to stop the discharge proceedings.
Stein has a powerful ally in his corner. Rep. Duncan Hunter, San Diego congressman and Marine veteran, wrote a letter to Col. Christopher Dowling as well, calling on him to drop the dismissal hearing, according to The Hill. Hunter argues that the Marine Corps' social media policy is too vague:
“In fact, nothing in the directive actually mentions social media and what activity is or is not approved for active duty servicemembers. Because of the ambiguity regarding this issue, I urge the Marine Corps to withdraw the discharge proceedings and allow Sgt. Stein to complete his enlistment over the coming months.”
Stein's dismissal hearing is slated for Thursday morning.
