The Space Force lieutenant colonel who was relieved of his command after criticizing “Marxist” ideology and critical race theory training in the military is seeing literary success.
Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier’s book, Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military, surged to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list on Sunday night, after news that he was under investigation for his comments spread.
The self-published work, which explores the “impact of a neo-Marxist agenda” and the manner in which the “Black Lives Matter movement, anti-racism, postmodernism, [and] political correctness” affect the national security of the United States, also topped the charts at Barnes and Noble.
Lohmeier, who led a unit responsible for detecting missile launches, was relieved of his command by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting on Friday “due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead,” the U.S. Space Force said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
The Space Force added that the decision was due to comments made by Lohmeier in a podcast promoting Irresistible Revolution, and an investigation had been launched to determine whether the comments fall under the military’s prohibition on participation in partisan political activity by service members.
A Department of Defense directive prohibits active-duty personnel from engaging in “partisan political activities.” Service members are, however, permitted to express their personal opinions on political candidates and issues in their personal capacity and when not in uniform.
Lohmeier told Military.com that he did not intend to participate in partisan politics.
“My intent never has been to engage in partisan politics. I have written a book about a particular political ideology (Marxism) in the hope that our Defense Department might return to being politically nonpartisan in the future as it has honorably done throughout history.”
The lieutenant colonel criticized Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s push for more diversity inclusion in the armed forces, warning it would cause greater division.
Austin instituted a 60-day force-wide extremism “stand-down” to determine how best to root out extremism from the military after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
“There were members, sadly, of the active-duty force participating and espousing these radical beliefs,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “We don’t know the full breadth and depth of it.”
Lohmeier told the podcast that he was asked to train his troops about extremism and was given a “70-page” booklet of “talking points,” which opened with the Capitol riot and included examples of “white nationalists that have been caught at some point in the last decade and punished for it and kicked out of the military, or a radical Islamic terrorist.”
“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.
Citing a diversity initiative where service members read So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo, in which the U.S. is referred to as a “white supremacist nation,” Lohmeier told the Information Operation podcast that the young service members are inundated by a “hyper-politicized work environment where diversity and inclusion initiatives are being pushed constantly.”
Lohmeier added that conservatives in the military who are willing to voice their opinions are painted as “extremists.”
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“What you see happening in the U.S. military at the moment is that if you’re a conservative, then you’re lumped into a group of people who are labeled extremists if you’re willing to voice your views. And if you’re aligned with the Left, then it’s OK to be an activist online because no one is gonna hold you accountable.”
Republican politicians came to Lohmeier’s defense, including Sen. Ted Cruz, who called the report “troubling,” while Rep. Ken Buck said the incident was “outrageous.” Rep. Matt Gaetz, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for the secretary of defense to testify in front of Congress.
