Ousted Space Force officer: Equity push potentially enabling illegal discrimination in US institutions

A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Space Force who was ousted after warning about marxism and its pervasion of American culture emphasized the distinction between "equity and equality" in an appearance on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Thursday.

"I don't think that any of our institutions at this point are immune from this idea that we are going to be pursuing equity," Lt. Colonel Matthew Lohmeier said.

But, he continued, "It's important for the American people to understand the difference between equity and equality," Lohmeier explained. " One of them is good, and the ideal … we tend to confuse the equality of opportunity, which is an ideal part of philosophies, with equity. It's a new term, it's used wittingly, which essentially means enforced outcomes or enforced inequality."

Lohmeier said he witnessed a troubling embrace of equity creeping into U.S. institutions, which manifests itself, he said, as "potentially illegally discriminatory policy. "

"Equity is not good as it is defined, but it sounds good, that's why we use the word," he explained. 

"But," he continued, "NASA has historically been -- I think -- a symbol of inclusion and equal opportunity. NASA is the kind of organization that people can look at, and understands that regardless of your background, you are able to show up here just like in the Defense Department, and rise up…and have an opportunity to make a name for yourself, to rise to leadership, and to do important things for the country.

"Because there's a unifying mission that these institutions believe in," he told Tucker Carlson, "whether it's space exploration in the case of NASA or defending our country and our allies from serious threats that we have in the world, people in uniform, for example, rally around that mission, and have historically not been caught up in the kind of identity politicking that you're talking about."

Lohmeier, who was the commander of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, was removed from duty in May after he spoke out against Marxism and critical race theory. Lohmeier's comments came during the podcast  "Information Operation," when he was a guest promoting his self-published book "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military."

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Republicans quickly rallied behind the spurned officer, demanding he be reinstated to his post, with some lauding Lohmeier as a "hero."

Lohmeier later confirmed that he had been reassigned in the Space Force, but retains his military rank.