United States District Judge
Background. Midshipman First Class Chase Standage was accused of two conduct charges for posting Twitter tweets from an account that did not associate him with the military and that were arbitrarily deemed to be “conduct unbecoming a midshipman,” an offense under Article 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Rather than conducting a court-martial under UCMJ, US Naval Academy leadership chose to adjudicate his case via internal administrative processes that resulted in USNA’s pending recommendation to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs [ASN(M&RA)] to separate him from the Navy and require him to reimburse USNA for the costs-to-date of his education.
Midshipman 1st Class Chase Standage. Naval Academy photo
22 Feb 2021 The Capital, Annapolis, Md. | By Heather Mongilio
A federal appeals court will now rule whether a midshipman can stay at the Naval Academy while he fights his expulsion for what academy leadership criticized as inappropriate and, in some cases, racist speech.
U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander denied a preliminary injunction Friday for Midshipman First Class Chase Standage, which would have barred the Navy from separating him while his lawsuit is heard.
However, she granted a stay Saturday after Standage, through attorney Jeffrey McFadden, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.