President Trump on Thursday pardoned a former Army officer who was convicted by a military court martial for refusing to follow the Pentagon’s COVID-19 safety rules.
Former Lt. Mark Bashaw was discharged from the Army in 2022 during the Biden administration after he would not take the COVID-19 shot and then refused to work remotely.
Bashaw also would not submit a coronavirus test before reporting for office, and he would not wear a face mask indoors.
The Pentagon had required such measures of all service members should they decline the mandated vaccine, and Bashaw was found guilty by a military judge for failing to comply.
But Trump on Thursday pardoned Bashaw along with a slew of other individuals, including a former Chicago gang leader and reality TV stars convicted on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.
Starting in August 2021, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin required the COVID-19 shot for troops, sailors and airmen, arguing at the time that the mandate was critical to keeping U.S. forces healthy and ready to fight. The Pentagon later dropped the rule in January 2023 as the pandemic waned.
