News Release
For Immediate Release: 10.14.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Army Chaplain Sanctioned for Suicide Prevention Seminar Asks for Record to be Cleared
Chaplain faces continued sanction years after being told he was cleared by investigation.
Washington, D.C.—First Liberty Institute and the law firm McGuireWoods LLP sent an application to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records on behalf of Lt. Col. Joseph Lawhorn, a veteran Ranger-qualified chaplain, asking the Army to take immediate action to remove adverse information from Lawhorn’s promotion board file and from every official record in which it appears.
You can read the application here.
“Chaplain Lawhorn follows the directive of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and serves diligently as the spiritual and moral backbone of the soldiers under his care but now he has been wrongfully blacklisted for following orders. The Army isn’t listening,” said Chris Motz, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “Chaplains, the ‘shepherds of the soul’ for service members, should be encouraged, not shamed or cancelled.”
“Chaplain Lawhorn should be praised and encouraged for sharing his own personal struggles to help soldiers who are at-risk to become another suicide statistic in the armed forces,” said Jack White, Partner at McGuireWoods. “Instead, he was investigated and his promotion file was red-flagged, evidence that Secretary Hegseth’s called for reforms bolstering military chaplains are sorely needed.”
In 2020, Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn delivered required annual suicide-prevention training. He titled the training “Coming Out of the Closet: Straight-Talk about Depression and Suicidality.” The title came from his own diagnosed depression and from his coping practice, during his worst period, of retreating into a closet. One attendee swore that the briefing led him to meet his behavioral-health provider two days later and that he would “forever be thankful.” Another called it the best suicide-prevention class he had received.
One attendee objected. The adverse information in Lawhorn’s file arises out of the resulting investigation. Following the investigation, during a face-to-face meeting, his commanding officer told Chaplain Lawhorn the complaints were unsubstantiated, “it was over,” and “everyone needs to move on.” However, when Chaplain Lawhorn was under consideration for a promotion to full Colonel earlier this year, he learned his commander had substantiated the prior investigation, and it was included in his promotion file as adverse information. As of July 2026, Chaplain Lawhorn was not promoted nor was his name on the promotion list.
In the application, attorneys explain, “The whole of the conduct at issue is the title of a one-hour virtual training, drawn from the speaker’s own illness, delivered in compliance with a brigade commander’s instruction to be uncomfortable and real. Attendees thanked him and one sought help. No corrective measure was imposed and no similar allegation has been made in the five years since. On that record, [the investigation’s] findings have now cost LTC Lawhorn selection for Colonel after nearly three decades of service.”
Recently, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the formation of the Office of Religious Affairs, which he said will “support and assess spiritual fitness, spiritual readiness, and spiritual resilience across the Total Force.” The office will also provide resources for “delivery of religious ministry,” chaplains and their training.
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
