Williams said he believed the soldiers successfully delivered the vaccine supply to the town of Matador. The Texas National Guard said the incident remains under investigation. The Department of Homeland Security requested to hold him and will probably bring federal charges, Williams said. It is also not clear whether Harris, who remains in jail, has an attorney. None of the soldiers was armed, Williams said, which is typical for domestic responses, such as coronavirus-related missions.Īuthorities said they believe Harris was in the area before the incident but are not sure exactly where. Harris had another pistol magazine in a pocket and a third magazine in his truck, along with more ammunition. One of the soldiers called 911, and Idalou officers arrived a few minutes later and arrested Harris without incident. 45-caliber pistol at one of the soldiers, said he was a detective and ordered the soldiers out of the vehicles, Williams said. They stopped at a gas station across the highway for drinks, Williams said, and Harris followed the convoy from there.Īfter he stopped the vans, Harris pointed a. Larry Harris, 66, of Willcox, Arizona, told police that he stopped three vans because he believed people inside them had kidnapped a woman. Texas Guard officials, for instance, said in an email that the Pentagon appeared to be imposing vaccine mandates on military and National Guard members without adequate protections in place for. It appeared Harris pursued the soldiers almost as soon as they left an armory in Lubbock. LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) An Arizona man is accused of forcing off the road a National Guard convoy transporting COVID-19 vaccines in West Texas and then holding 11 guard members at gunpoint. Larry Harris told police he thought the three white vans, which National Guard troops were using to transport coronavirus vaccine, were part of a kidnapping of a woman and child. The soldiers were not harmed in the incident. Harris was arrested soon after police arrived and charged with several offenses, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an obscure law that makes it a crime to interfere with Texas military forces, Williams said. “Some were so young, I thought they may have been part of an ROTC detachment,” Williams told The Washington Post. Harris tried to run the vans off the road, then swerved into oncoming traffic to stop them before ordering 11 soldiers out at gunpoint, culminating in a bizarre moment that left them shaken on the side of a small-town highway road, said Idalou Police Chief Eric C. But Larry Harris, a 66-year-old Arizona man, later told police he thought the three unmarked white vans were involved in the kidnapping of a woman and child. The soldiers were transporting coronavirus vaccine to a town 80 miles away, authorities said. On Wednesday, the Oklahoma National Guard reported that 97 of its Air component had been vaccinated or was awaiting determination for a medical exemption or religious waiver. Monday on the edge of Lubbock, Tex., when a man, armed with a loaded pistol, allegedly barreled down the highway in hot pursuit of Texas National Guard members, furious about the imagined cargo. The Air Force data includes the Space Force.ĭefense officials have also suggested that in many cases those who refused the order and were discharged were in the very early stages of their military enlistment.Ĭopyright 2023 The Associated Press. There have been 2,041 discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army and 834 from the Air Force. Overall, according to data compiled by the military as of late last year, the Marine Corps leads the services with 3,717 Marines discharged for refusing to follow the vaccine order. 15 for active-duty soldiers and June 30 for Reserve and Army National Guard troops. They could leave with an honorable discharge. Jones said that only 40 Air Force officers were discharged for refusing the vaccine order, and another 14 opted to retire voluntarily. Hypothetically, a soldier with years left on their contract can still serve, but will see no progress in their career and will not be allowed to serve beyond that contract. Lawmakers also questioned the impact of the discharges on the military, including whether it forced out many pilots. The Army has made COVID-19 vaccines part of our normal medical readiness requirements and began mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations of Soldiers using the FDA approved Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty. Cory Mills, R-Fla., said he will push to allow those who were “unlawfully purged, in my opinion, to be reentered into the military with their full benefits, their back pay, and be granted what they should have been given, which is the chance to serve our United States military.”Īny move to provide back pay or other retroactive benefits would have to be addressed through legislation.
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