Former Lt. Mark Bashaw took a victory lap Wednesday night on social media following a pardon granted to him by President Donald Trump, which came three years after he was court-martialed for rejecting COVID-19 mandates.
Bashaw was convicted in 2022 after he failed to provide negative COVID-19 tests and opted out of wearing a mask at work, which followed a vaccine mandate from then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for all service members. Bashaw’s court-martial gave him a criminal record, and he was later discharged in 2023. His criminal record has since been wiped out after receiving a pardon from Trump this week.
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“I just received a Presidential Pardon from President Donald J. Trump. I am humbled, grateful, and ready to continue fighting for truth and justice in this great nation. Thank you, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump and to your incredible team, WRWY,” Bashaw wrote on X, including an acronym for “we are with you.”
Bashaw also thanked others “who took a stand against tyranny” and gave thanks to “Jesus Christ Almighty.” Included in his post was a video from April 2022, just before his court-martial, in which he encouraged other service members to “hold the line.”
On his Instagram account, Bashaw posted a quote from President Thomas Jefferson reading, “Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.”
TRUMP PARDONS SCOTT JENKINS, FORMER VIRGINIA SHERIFF CONVICTED OF BRIBERY
This week, the president has issued a myriad of pardons, including to former Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who served from 2011 to 2015. He pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2014 and later announced his resignation from Congress.
Trump also pardoned reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, best known for their 10 seasons on the series Chrisley Knows Best. The couple was convicted of eight counts of financial fraud and two counts of tax evasion in 2022, though Trump believed that the couple was “unfairly targeted” by the “weaponized” Justice Department under former President Joe Biden’s watch.