A former 20-year Guardsman criticized food, housing and other aspects of National Guard life. Then, he essentially lost his job.

Published Jul 31, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

Lawyers for retired guardsman Timothy Stanhope successfully argued he was pressured to retire over online posts criticizing his leaders.

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Published Jul 31, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

The North Carolina National Guard has settled a First Amendment lawsuit with a veteran over his right to criticize his military leaders online. Lawyers for Timothy Stanhope, a retired guardsman who spent roughly 20 years in the military, successfully argued he was pressured to retire over his online social media posts. While Stanhope did not get any monetary relief from the suit, his access to the Guard's official Facebook page was restored. "The government should not be able to just silence their critics with the click of a button," Michelle Scott, associate counsel with the Center for Individual Rights, told Military.com. "The National Guard agreed to change the terms of their Facebook pages, so that posts won't be removed or deleted and users won't be blocked based on their viewpoint, which puts the Guard in compliance with the First Amendment." Scott represented Stanhope in his case, which not only sued the Guard but also Stanhope's commander, Maj. Gen. Tom Hunt, and other officials, alleging his free speech rights were violated. "Tim didn't violate any official rules," Scott said. "He was never accused of violating anything like that. He was just told, 'You know, we don't like your opinions. We don't like your criticisms, and it's not welcome.'"