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President Donald Trump pardoned a former military member on Thursday after the Army officer refused to wear a mask indoors and refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine under the Biden administration.
Former Lt. Mark Bashaw was convicted by a military court martial under the Biden administration in 2022 when he refused to take the newly created vaccine. He also would not wear a mask indoors and refused to be subject to Covid-19 tests, per The Hill.
The requirements bucked by Bashaw were launched by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2021, who required that all military members needed to be vaccinated. Bashaw, as well as thousands of other military members, were involuntarily discharged when they refused to get the vaccine. Bashaw, however, was the first servicemember who was put on trial over the rules.
Bashaw posted on X in 2023 that the trial occurred because he “refused to participate with lies.”
Bashaw, although he did not serve any time from the conviction, had a criminal record as a result, but that was wiped away by the pardon given by President Trump. Along with Trump's pardon of Bashaw, his administration has taken action to allow military members discharged from the service to rejoin the military, with full back pay.
The pardon came along with a wave of other acts of clemency this week from Trump. The president granted clemency to former New York Rep. Michael Grimm, who previously pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland also received a pardon.
Rapper NBA Youngboy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, also got a pardon from Trump. He wrote in an Instagram Story post, thanking the president, "I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and for giving me the opportunity to keep building -- as a man, as a father, and as an artist.”
"It opens the door to a future I’ve worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this," the rapper added.
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