Tag: mandatory vaccination

NMSU Alumnus and Former Professor Files Legal Action Over Unlawful Vaccine Mandate

Today, David K. Clements, a former Assistant Professor of consumer protection and business law, announced the filing of a lawsuit against New Mexico State University (NMSU) and its Board of Regents, alleging breach of contract and violation of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act.

The action stems from his wrongful termination on October 15, 2021, for refusing to comply with NMSU’s COVID-19 experimental vaccine and mask mandate, which he contends violated federal law by lacking informed consent and refusal rights.

“It is difficult to announce this lawsuit in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination. He fought for free speech on campuses just like NMSU. Before his life was tragically taken, lives and reputations were destroyed on campuses across America for exercising our First Amendment right to combat forced injections, masking, and invasive testing. For those who held the line against forced injection, many had to endure a six-inch nasal swab shoved up their nose, scraping the back of their throats every week, or else face the loss of their job. It was dehumanizing. I will fight these monsters with everything I have,” Clements stated.

Clements, who taught at NMSU until his dismissal, argues that the mandate disrupted educational services to both students and faculty—services generating $2.6 billion in economic output—and exploited his position as a tenure-track professor to pressure students to get an injection with virtually no scientific data advising them of their risks. The Complaint can be read here.

“The university effectively took bribe money tied to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, among others. They chose to rake in millions of dollars rather than look out for the health and safety of faculty and students. The statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years. I hope this lawsuit will alert former colleagues and students that were harmed by the jab or denied accommodations, that a university’s greed should not outweigh their rights to receive an education free of coercion. There is still time on the clock for thousands of lawsuits to be filed,” Clements stated.

NMSU is no stranger to controversy. Over the past five years, it has been sued for allegations of hazing, sexual assault, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. These include an $8 million settlement in June 2023 with former basketball players Deuce Benjamin, Shak Odunewu, and William Benjamin for hazing and sexual assault claims; a $495,000 settlement in March 2024 with former provost Carol Parker for discrimination and retaliation; a $60,000 settlement in February 2024 with former Title IX coordinator Laura Castille for retaliation; a $1 million settlement in July 2025 with a female student alleging mishandling of a sexual assault case; and an undisclosed settlement in August 2025 with former basketball coach Greg Heiar for wrongful termination. These resolutions, totaling over $9.5 million in disclosed amounts, reflect a troubling track record.

Clements’ objection to the mandate’s illegality has been vindicated by recent developments, including the CDC’s 2025 withdrawal of vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women and Moderna’s requirement for placebo-controlled trials. “As an alumnus and educator, I sought to protect my students and colleagues from potential harm, only to face retaliation,” Clements stated.

The lawsuit seeks reinstatement to a tenured position, compensatory and treble (triple) damages under the UPA for what Clements describes as a willful and unconscionable trade practice. He has requested preservation of all related records to ensure transparency.

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Pentagon Human Resources Leader Championed DEI, Vaccine Mandates Under Biden

The current head of human resources at the Department of War (DOW), formerly the Department of Defense (DOD), was the “architect” of the military’s previous Diversity and Inclusion program, enforced the unlawful COVID vaccine mandate, and developed a program that expedited citizenship for noncitizen service members who were deported after being convicted of crimes.

Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Samuel Shoemate sounded the alarm on X this week, drawing attention to DOW Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Military Personnel Policy Stephanie Miller.

Miller oversees the “full spectrum of human resource policies for over two million military personnel serving in the Department of War,” Shoemate wrote.

Her old bio, which has been revised to remove any mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), states that her career includes “leadership positions as the DoD Director of Diversity and Inclusion Management, Deputy Director for Navy Diversity, and Director, Navy Women’s Policy.”

She also served as a Defense Legislative Fellow for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — a close associate of Hollywood Democrat donors and one of just three Republican senators who voted against the confirmation of War Secretary Pete Hegseth in January.

“Stephanie has been an advisor to, and architect of, every decision in the military over the last decade and a half that has harmed military readiness and overall military strength,” Shoemate wrote. 

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Trump Says Youth Vaccine Mandate Rollback is a “Very Tough Position” – “They Just Pure and Simple Work… I Think Those Vaccines Should be Used”

President Trump on Friday expressed support for mandatory vaccines for school-aged children, amid Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.’s push to end unnecessary vaccination. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats sought to grill him about his personnel and vaccine guidance shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Per the Hill, “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for those under 18. Kennedy, meanwhile, has fired all 17 sitting members of CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and also moved to oust the CDC head and other top HHS experts.”

During the Senate hearing, RFK revealed that in the early 2000s, a senior CDC scientist was ordered to destroy data from an internal study that showed a staggering link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism risk in young Black boys. The data showed that black boys, who got vaccinated before 24 months of age or 36 months of age, “had a 260% greater chance of getting an autism diagnosis than children who waited,” RFK said.

This also comes after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced earlier this week that the Florida Department of Health is planning to remove “every last” vaccine mandate from Florida law.

“All of them. Every last one of them,” Ladapo said to loud cheers and a standing ovation.

“Who am I, as the government, or anyone else, who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right.”

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NIH Director on FL: In My Opinion, Not Having Vax Mandates Seems Best

On Thursday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya commented on Florida moving to scrap vaccine mandates by stating that he’s not speaking for the administration, but not having mandates “seems to be the better approach” and “The strategy of using mandates, it’s not obvious it’s the right one.”

Bhattacharya said, “I’m not sure exactly what — the administration yet has a take on this, but I’ll tell you, Rob, if you look in the U.K., if you look in Sweden, you look in Denmark, none of them have vaccine mandates for any of their vaccines. All of the vaccines are voluntary in those places. What they do have is public health that doesn’t lie to their people. And so, you have amazing vaccine uptake for vaccines like MMR in all of those places, without vaccine mandates, without violating bodily autonomy of people, because public health has the trust of the people because they’re trustworthy. The problem in the United States has been, public health hasn’t been trustworthy, especially during COVID, you saw a lot of, like, exaggerations about the vaccine’s — the COVID vaccine’s ability to stop you from getting and spreading COVID, for instance, and the mandates, they just deepen the distrust. The strategy of using mandates, it’s not obvious it’s the right one. And, as I said, like in Europe, you have a very, very different strategy and they have better results than we do on uptake of essential vaccines like the MMR.”

He added, “They’re not coercing people. What they’re doing, they’re reasoning with people. I find that approach quite attractive. I’m not making an announcement as far as the administration is concerned. I’m just telling you my point of view as an epidemiologist and scientist, that that seems to be the better approach to public health, talk to people, talk to them about the data, what the data actually show and don’t show, be honest about what — when there are problems, and then, treat people like adults, especially parents, to help them make good decisions for their families.”

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DeSantis and Ladapo aim to make Florida first in US to end all vaccine mandates

Florida is set to push for an end to all state vaccine mandates, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced at a news conference Wednesday.

For decades, the state has required numerous vaccines for kids attending school, a list that today includes shots that protect against measles-mumps-rubella, polio, chickenpox and hepatitis B.

But Ladapo on Wednesday compared these mandates to “slavery,” and promised that they all will soon end.

“All of them. Every last one of them,” Ladapo said to raucous cheers from the crowd assembled at the Grace Christian School in Valrico. “Who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?”

Dr. Nancy Silva, a Wesley Chapel pediatrician, said ending the vaccine mandates for schoolchildren will endanger their health and bring back diseases with life-threatening health complications that most parents of school-age children have never faced.

She questioned why the DeSantis administration would make vaccines an issue when school mandates have proven effective at eradicating and minimizing the spread of childhood diseases.

“I hope parents understand the great wonder of vaccines and how they have saved millions of lives over the decades.”

Immunizations have saved at least 154 million lives in the last 50 years, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of the lives saved were infants.

All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have laws requiring certain vaccines for students to attend school. Florida is the first state to publicly call for doing away with such requirements.

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‘Right This Wrong’: GRACE Act Would Strip Federal Funding From Schools That Ban Religious Exemptions

A member of the U.S. Congress has drafted legislation that would strip federal funding from schools that don’t allow parents to apply for religious exemptions from vaccination requirements for their children.

The GRACE Act, or Guaranteeing Religious Accommodation in Childhood Education Act, drafted by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), would target elementary and secondary schools, as well as local and state educational agencies.

The legislation would not require state authorities or educational institutions to offer religious exemptions, but it would deny federal funds to those entities if they maintain vaccine mandates that don’t include provisions for religious exemptions.

“The denial of religious exemptions to families and children is un-American and unconstitutional,” said Michael Kane, CHD’s director of advocacy and founder of Teachers for Choice. “CHD and I thank Rep. Steube for putting forth this important legislation to right this wrong that is a clear violation of the First Amendment.”

The GRACE Act is a response to the “alarming erosion of civil rights” that occurred under the Biden administration, said Cait Corrigan, a former congressional candidate from New York and an advocate for medical freedom and religious liberty.

“This issue is one of religious freedom, individual liberty and parental rights, which I often describe as part of a broader response to years of increasing concern,” Corrigan said.

Steube’s office did not respond by deadline to The Defender’s request for comment on the legislation.

‘A matter of conscience, faith and the fundamental dignity of every family’

Corrigan said the proposed legislation is “not just an issue of policy” but “a matter of conscience, faith and the fundamental dignity of every family in this country.”

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Federal court dismisses case against LA school Covid shot mandate

A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Covid-19 vaccine mandate for employees.

The case was brought in 2021 by the Health Freedom Defense Fund and   California Educators for Medical Freedom on behalf of school employees. More than 1,000 employees lost their jobs after refusing Covid shots. Plaintiffs argued the mandate violated their right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, especially since the shots did not prevent transmission.

The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in an 11-judge “en banc” decision, ruled that LAUSD had the authority to require Covid vaccination in 2021. At the time, public health authorities, including the CDC, were advising that the shots would protect public health.

Several judges dissented, warning the decision comes “perilously close” to allowing the government to mandate medical treatments “so long as it asserts — even if incorrectly — that it would promote public health and safety.”

The majority opinion relied on the 1905 Supreme Court case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, which upheld a smallpox vaccine mandate. The dissenting judges said Jacobson applies only to vaccines that stop disease transmission, which plaintiffs argued Covid shots do not do.

LAUSD ended its employee vaccine mandate in September 2023. However, plaintiffs say they still suffer harm, including lost wages and career damage, and warn the policy could return. They are considering an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

“This ruling should terrify every American because the court is essentially saying it doesn’t matter whether or not health authorities lie, it doesn’t matter whether or not vaccines actually have a public health impact. All that matters is that someone is afraid and tells you that this is the right way to address the problem, and then you have to comply.”
— Leslie Manookian, Health Freedom Defense Fund

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Biden-Era COVID Vaccine Mandate Records Erased in Donald Trump Rollback

The Trump administration has directed all federal agencies to delete records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, any noted noncompliance with pandemic-era mandates, and requests for vaccine exemptions.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the directive Friday in a memo to department and agency heads, instructing them to eliminate both physical and electronic vaccine-related records from personnel files.

The policy change takes effect immediately.

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How to Mount a Religious Liberty Challenge to a Childhood Vaccine Mandate

In 2024, IT specialist Lisa Domski was awarded $12.7 million in a religious discrimination lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The health company had fired her for refusing a Covid-19 vaccine that was developed using aborted fetal cell lines—to which she objected as a Catholic. 

Domski’s case isn’t unique. Hers is one of at least five major lawsuits pitting vaccine mandates against religious liberty in recent years.

Most Americans might assume that the religious liberty guaranteed by the First Amendment would extend to vaccines given to both adults and children. Most states do recognize such a right, but California, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and West Virginia do not.

Should they? With ever-growing public concern about vaccine mandates, it’s only a matter of time before this question reaches the Supreme Court. 

The Court has never ruled directly on the question of religious liberty and vaccine mandates, but it has dealt with mandates. Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) involved an adult man, Henning Jacobson of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The city, following a state statute, had mandated the smallpox vaccine during an epidemic and had fined Jacobson five dollars for failing to comply. He argued that his state’s mandate violated his right to individual liberty under the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court disagreed with Mr. Jacobson. It ruled 7-2 that states have broad authority under their police powers to enact public health measures, including compulsory vaccinations, when necessary to protect the community. 

In Zucht v. King (1922), the Supreme Court ruled that schools could mandate vaccines. In Cantwell (1940), however, the Court found that states needed to have a compelling state interest to restrict religious freedom. Half a century later, Smith (1990) lowered the bar for states to overrule religious liberty claims. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993) partially rebalanced the scales. And recent Court decisions suggest that the Court may soon send Smith to the recycle bin.

None of these cases, however, involved a potential conflict between religious liberty and a vaccine mandate. So, these questions remain: If presented with the issue, should the Supreme Court require that state laws recognize religious liberty objections to vaccine mandates? And if so, under what conditions?

I’m neither a legal scholar nor a prophet, so I won’t venture a prediction about how the Court would rule. Still, the Court should recognize the legitimacy of at least some religious liberty objections to vaccine mandates. This is true even if one believes the seven-vote majority decided correctly in 1905 that states could mandate the smallpox vaccine.

Such mandates always involve crucial questions of fact. In Jacobson, the Court took for granted several of what it viewed as facts: (1) Smallpox vaccines, they assumed, had a long history of immunizing recipients against a highly infectious and deadly disease. (2) There were few alternative treatments for the infected. (3) The cost of refusing the Massachusetts mandate—a small fine—was not all that burdensome. (4) The risk of the vaccine itself was quite low. (5) Finally, they assumed, such a mandate was needed for public safety. 

Given all this, they rejected his appeal to personal liberty.

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Doctor Speaks Out After DOJ Drops Charges for Helping Patients Avoid COVID Mandates

Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, a Utah plastic surgeon who was indicted in 2023 for allegedly destroying government-provided COVID vaccines, issuing fake vaccination cards, and administering saline shots to patients who wished to get around mandates, spoke out in front of the Supreme Court after his charges were dropped.

Joining other speakers Sunday on the fifth anniversary of the 2020 “White Coat Summit,” where experts Dr. Simone Gold and Dr. Stella Immanuel led America’s Frontline Doctors in a public outcry against COVID-related tyranny, Moore thanked those who supported him and slammed Big Pharma. 

“I stand here before you, not because I was seeking attention, but because I refused to abandon my oath,” the Utah doctor told the crowd. “My story just isn’t my own. It’s a warning shot, a rally cry, and a living testament to what happens when medicine and morality collide with government overreach.”

Moore went on to thank U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) for standing up for him “when it mattered the most.”

Bondi announced that her Justice Department dismissed the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to dispose of government property, in a July 12 social media post.

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