<![CDATA[rutherford institute - Philip D. Cave]]> https://www.court-martial.com/blog/tags/rutherford-institute/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:45:09 GMT en-us <![CDATA[Stolen Valor – an interesting twist – It’s protected speech]]> https://www.court-martial.com/blog/stolen-valor-an-interesting-twist-its-protected-speech/ https://www.court-martial.com/blog/stolen-valor-an-interesting-twist-its-protected-speech/ Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:03:30 GMT A challenge to the Stolen Valor Act is being made based on the First Amendment. Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to his attorney and a civil liberties organization. Would you trust this man in a foxhole? Strandlof, 32,…

]]> A challenge to the Stolen Valor Act is being made based on the First Amendment.

Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to his attorney and a civil liberties organization.

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Would you trust this man in a foxhole?

Strandlof, 32, is charged in U.S. District Court in Denver with five misdemeanors related to violating the Stolen Valor Act — specifically, making false claims about receiving military decorations. He is accused of posing as “Rick Duncan,” a wounded Marine captain who received a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. Strandlof used that persona to found the Colorado Veterans Alliance and solicit funds for the organization. On Tuesday, the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties group based in Virginia, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Strandlof’s case attacking the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act.

Denver Post reports.

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