Seth Udinski, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
This past year, FISM News has reported numerous court cases surrounding religious freedom. Many times, those fighting for religious liberty have been represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which specializes in protecting the First Amendment rights of Americans in court.
Last week, a report from “Christian Headlines” revealed a high-ranking member of the Justice Department falsely accused ADF of being a “hate group.”
Eric P. Bruskin, assistant director of the commercial litigation branch in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, expressed his disdain for ADF on a LinkedIn post in response to former Massachusetts attorney Jason Weida, who was slated to speak at an ADF conference and was sharing his fondness for the organization.
Bruskin wrote,
Jason, this is a hate group. You’re speaking at a conference for a hate group. Are these the beliefs you hold? If so, then it’s time we end our professional association.
According to the standards set by the DOJ, Bruskin broke the rules of the department’s personal conduct policy, which condemns social media comments “that can be perceived as showing prejudice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected basis.”
The policy continues,
Department employees are required at all times to adhere to certain government-wide standards of conduct that apply to online communications, regardless of whether the employees are at work, off duty, or using government equipment.
According to reports, this is not the first time leftists have judged ADF as a “hate group.” The Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC) said of the organization,
ADF’s longstanding antipathy toward LGBTQ people has become public through its work on lawsuits, various statements its leaders have made and materials it has offered on its website over the years.
ADF responded as such,
If the price of holding our traditional religious beliefs and speaking on them in public discourse is to earn a place on the ‘Hate Map,’ then we’ll view SPLC’s slander as a badge of honor. But the people who use such tactics should know they won’t work forever. They will not succeed in trampling conscience or stopping civil discourse by name-calling. That’s the tactic of the bully on the playground.
Notably, some have publicly accused the far-left SLPC of being a “hate-based scam.”
At this time, it is unclear if the DOJ has executed any disciplinary action against Bruskin.