The military is investigating Navy SEAL Bryce Henson over his alleged ties to extremist groups and advocacy against progressive gender ideology.
This investigation arose because he attended protests and other events around Southern California. However, this development raises questions about whether the effort is motivated by concerns over security -- or if politics is playing more of a role.
A report from Military.com details the matter:
A Marine-turned-Navy SEAL operator is under investigation for having ties with extremist groups such as the Proud Boys after local reporters and activists, as well as major media outlets, revealed he attended many protests and events throughout Southern California.
Chief Special Warfare Operator Bryce Henson is under investigation following allegations of "possibly participating with, or supporting, extremist causes," Navy spokesman Cmdr. Ben Tisdale confirmed to Military.com.
Henson rose to prominence over the past year while attending protests as well as school board and city council meetings, where he pushed anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric under a false name and often in the company of Proud Boy members.
Tisdale said that "while sailors are always allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and assembly if they follow the law and policy restriction, participation with hate or extremist groups of any kind is contradictory to the core values of the Navy and is not tolerated by [Navy Special Warfare]."
In a statement released to the media, a Navy spokesperson explained the investigation.
We are investigating allegations of a Naval Special Warfare service member possibly participating with, or supporting, extremist causes
While Sailors are always allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and assembly if they follow the law and policy restriction, participation with hate or extremist groups of any kind is contradictory to the core values of the Navy and is not tolerated by NSW.
While it would make sense to ensure that members of the Armed Services are not involved in radical extremist groups, this story doesn’t seem to fly. It appears to reflect the drastic changes the military is undergoing under the Biden administration as progressives continue to “wokify” it. There have been stories about military leaders seeking to root out “white supremacy” among its ranks. Yet, we never hear about them investigating people who might be aligned with Antifa or other left-wing outfits.
Moreover, Henson’s supposed ties to the Proud Boys aren’t exactly as damning as folks on the left would like us to believe. Yes, some of the group’s members have engaged in violence. But the notion that it is some type of hateful violent group is silly. Most of these individuals hang out, drink, and talk politics. This just seems to be part of an overall move to ensure that leftist ideas like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) become the dominant ideological force in the Armed Services.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) have both called out the push to create a more left-wing military.
As reported by Fox News, the Biden administration has launched extensive diversity and equity initiatives in the military with emphasis on critical race theory and gender identity and significantly weakened the U.S. Armed Forces, according to a damning report obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. This should surprise no one who has paid attention to Lloyd Austin’s obsession with “racism” from the outset.
The report, from Florida Sen. Mark Rubio and Texas Rep. Chip Roy, details how the military under the Biden Administration has allocated resources to “root out extremism” within its ranks as it promotes radical left-wing ideas on race and gender. Lloyd Austin is the deranged driver of this dangerous clown car.
Rubio and Roy correctly observed, in the report:
Our military’s singular purpose is to provide for the common defense. It cannot be turned into a left-wing social experiment. It cannot be used as a cudgel against America itself. And it cannot be paralyzed by fear of offending the sensibilities of Ivy League faculty lounges or progressive pundits. The world is a dangerous place, and the Biden administration’s insanity is eroding our greatest source of security in it.
If this were a case of a trained military officer engaging with actual hate groups or radical extremist organizations, there would be no problem. Nobody wants the government to be arming and training these folks. But in this case, the Navy seems to be more interested in curbing Henson’s speech than ensuring that he is not a dangerous individual.
But this situation could be even bigger than it seems. The military’s actions in cases like these could set precedents for how it handles allegations of extremism and how this impacts free speech. One only needs to look at the predicament Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier found himself in for expressing his dissent with the wokifying of the military.
In a podcast, he spoke about U.S. institutions, including universities, media, and federal agencies, including the military, that he said were increasingly adopting leftist practices. He said these practices — such as diversity and inclusion training — are the systemic causes for the divisive climate across America today. For expressing his freedom of speech, Lt Col Lohmeier was relieved from his post last week by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of Space Operations Command because of comments he made during a podcast promoting his new book.
This could very easily be a way to apply the principles of cancel culture in the U.S. military, using investigations and other procedures to weed out those who are unwilling to go along with the leftist agenda progressives are pushing in this institution. Given what we have already seen in America over the past decade, it is not beyond the stretch of the imagination to speculate that this is what could be happening to Henson, and others.