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Neither Jesus nor President Trump are apparently welcome at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, but rainbow flags, sports banners, and just about everything else under the sun are perfectly acceptable.
That’s the stunning takeaway from a case involving a U.S. Air Force tech sergeant who was ordered to take down a flag flying outside his on-base home. The message on the banner was simple, direct, and unmistakably American:
“Jesus is my King. Trump is my President.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was apparently too much truth for the gatekeepers of woke military housing.
As I told viewers on The Todd Starnes Show on Newsmax,
“Well, neither Jesus nor President Trump are apparently welcome at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. An airman there ordered to remove a flag that was flying outside his on-base house. The flag reads, Jesus is my King, Trump is my President. All right, what’s wrong with that?”
What’s wrong with it, according to the powers that be, is that it dared to affirm faith and patriotism in an era when both are treated like a communicable disease.
After the flag had been flying peacefully for about six weeks, the tech sergeant—who is married and has four children—received a phone call followed by an email. Not from some offended neighbor clutching pearls, but from the private property company that manages on-base housing at Malmstrom.
The message was blunt: take down the flag within 48 hours or face a violation of the lease. One of the potential consequences? Eviction.
The housing company also notified his military chain of command, which directed him to comply. Faced with the threat of losing his home and jeopardizing his career, the airman did what any responsible father would do—he took the flag down.
That’s when he reached out to First Liberty Institute, one of the nation’s top religious liberty law firms.
Joining me on the show was his attorney, Chris Motz, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, who explained exactly how this unfolded.
“Well, after the flag had been flying for about six weeks, he received a phone call and then an email from the private property company that manages on-base housing at Malmstrom. And they gave him 48 hours to take it down or he’d be held in violation of his lease agreement, one of the consequences of which, of course, is eviction,” Motz said.
They threatened to kick this Airman to the curb because he loves Jesus and President Trump.
“They also notified his military chain of command who directed him to comply with that notice of lease violation… He’s a married man with four children and not wanting get on the wrong side of his military chain of commands. He did remove the flag, took it down, but then reached out to First Liberty for legal assistance.”
It turns out there are plenty of other flags posted outside homes on the military base, including the gay pride flag.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Motz said. “The sergeant moved to Malmstrom in December of 2023. And one of the first things that he and his wife noticed was that there were all sorts of flags up all over base. Many different types of flags, sports flags, gay pride flags, all sorts flags.”
Let that sink in.
Rainbow flags? Fine.
Sports teams? No problem.
Political and ideological statements aligned with progressive orthodoxy? Stand and salute.
But a flag declaring allegiance to Jesus Christ and the duly elected President of the United States?
Take it down—or else.
Motz went on to explain that the airman and his family had flown various flags in the past without incident.
“They didn’t even think it was any sort of problem… but then they put up this Jesus is my King, Trump is my President flag about mid year this year. And after about six weeks of it flying, we’re ordered to take it down.”
This isn’t about regulations. This isn’t about leases. And it certainly isn’t about maintaining order.
This is about viewpoint discrimination—pure and simple.
“Well, the law is very clear that when service members sign up to serve our country, put on a uniform, and defend our nation, they don’t sacrifice their First Amendment rights,” he said.
“The guidance that he’s been given… is in the violation of the free exercise clause and free speech clause of the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Fair Housing Act.”
In other words, you don’t have to check your constitutional freedoms at the base gate.
It seems like a pretty simple fix to me. If the Air Force allows Airmen to fly the gay pride flag, then the Jesus flag must also be allowed.
If the gay pride flag is allowed, then the Jesus flag must be allowed too.