A District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday morning issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Air Force from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any airman who has filed a request for a religious accommodation, according to court documents.
Judge Matthew W. McFarland granted a motion brought by airmen to extend a court order from March that prohibited the Air Force from disciplining or separating plaintiffs fighting the mandate based on their religious beliefs to all airmen who filed requests for religious accommodation as a “class.”
The court order is a temporary restraining order (TRO), which is an emergency measure to preserve the status quo for up to 14 days while the judge is considering granting a preliminary injunction (PI), which would in turn last through the entire litigation process. If the judge continues to believe that the mandate is illegal, then the court will convert the TRO to a PI at the end of that window, effectively protecting all of these service members while the Biden administration appeals the decision to the Sixth Circuit appellate court.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ further motion on Thursday to treat all airmen who filed religious accommodation requests as a “class.”