Recently relieved Space Force commander Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier claimed the Pentagon sent out a video to U.S. military personnel that accused the United States and white people of being “evil.”
Lohmeier said during an appearance on Fox News’s Hannity that the videos “were sent out to every base [and] service member,” and, “We were asked to watch [them] in preparation for our extremism down days and discussions on race.”
The relieved commander claimed the videos “taught that the country was evil, that it was founded in 1619 and not 1776, and that whites are inherently evil.”
Lohmeier’s claim comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a military-wide stand down in February meant to combat domestic extremism in the military, an apparent response to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Lohmeier was temporarily reassigned last week pending an investigation into comments he made on a podcast, which the military said may fall under “prohibited partisan political activity.”
“The diversity, inclusion, and equity industry and the trainings we are receiving in the military … is rooted in critical race theory, which is rooted in Marxism,” Lohmeier said during his appearance on the Information Operation podcast.
Lohmeier appeared on the podcast to promote his new book, Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military, in which the commander claims a “neo-Marxist agenda” has taken over the Pentagon.
He also seemingly took aim directly at Austin during the podcast, warning that “this agenda, it will divide us, it will not unify us.”
But Lohmeier told host Sean Hannity that his “intent never has been to engage in partisan politics … I have written a book about a particular political ideology in the hope that our Defense Department might return to being politically nonpartisan in the future as it has honorably throughout history.”
Lohmeier, who will retain his rank while the investigation is ongoing, provided a similar explanation earlier Monday when he told Fox News that he did not intend his comments to be partisan in nature.
“I don’t believe I was being partisan. It is not politically partisan to expose or attack critical race theory or Marxism,” Lohmeier said. “The reason I say that is because Critical Race Theory and Marxism are antithetical to American values. Critical race theory fuels narratives that attack America’s founding documents.”
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He also denied singling out any individual leader, insisting he was only attacking the ideas presented in the training.
“I’m being misportrayed online. I don’t criticize any leader, or any person in the DoD, or any elected officials, but I try to tee up ideas that I think are toxic,” Lohmeier said.
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