(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced Friday that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense for all records related to diversity, inclusion, and equity training for first-year cadets entering West Point (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:21-cv-01795)).
This lawsuit was filed after the United States Military Academy failed to respond to an April 6, 2021, FOIA request seeking:
- Copies of all diversity, inclusion, and equity training materials for first-year Cadets entering West Point. This includes lists of reading materials and presentation materials that promote diversity, inclusion, and equity for first-year Cadets.
- Copies of all contracts between the U.S Military Academy and any organization or company responsible for coordinating and implementing diversity, inclusion, and equity programs and training for Cadets at the United States Military Academy.
In April, Congressman Mike Waltz (R-Fl), a West Point graduate, made public “examples of Corps of Cadets being mandated to attend seminars and presentations on critical race theory that included inflammatory lessons and presentations that are detrimental to the mission and morale of the U.S. Army.”
In a public letter to the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Waltz demanding information about the mandated critical race theory training for cadets:
Information has recently come to my attention from unsettled soldiers, cadets, and families that raises serious concerns about the U.S. Army’s introduction of elements of critical race theory into cadet instruction…In February this year, I understand the U.S. Military Academy under your leadership required cadets to attend a mandatory seminar on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” According to the schedule I received, cadets ‘MUST attend at least one of the seminars.
…
I was provided a presentation slide from one of the workshops with the title of ‘White Power at West Point’ and ‘Racist Dog Whistles at West Point.’ Additionally, another presentation slide shared with me depicted a lecture by Dr. Carol Anderson of Emory University with the title “Understanding Whiteness and White Rage.
“Critical race theory is racist, anti-American, and repackaged Marxism. It has no place in our military, let alone the storied heights of West Point,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Pentagon needs to immediately follow the FOIA law so the American people can fully understand and stop the extremist indoctrination of the U.S. Army’s rising leadership at West Point.”