Officials at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota cautioned service members via text message about potentially negative career consequences if they attended a nearby rally supporting former President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
Minot AFB expressed concerns about a “patriot” rally in downtown Minot featuring Turning Point Action's Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer, a close associate of Charlie Kirk.
“Leaders, please exercise caution if downtown this weekend,” a text message to base personnel began, adding that any service members going downtown should “be careful” and “reach out for any concerns.”
“Additionally, please remind them that participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the US military,” the message continued.
It further speculated that a shooting in Minot the day before may have been connected, either directly or indirectly, to the upcoming rally.
Fox News reports:
At issue was a planned Nov. 17 event dubbed the “Dakota Patriot Rally” at the state fairgrounds in Minot, and the text warned personnel “to be cautious” if they were in the area, especially because some rally-goers “could be confrontational to military members.” The text, which was shared with the popular “Air Force amen/nco/snco” Facebook page, also noted that the event would feature a guest speaker from Turning Point Action, which the warning noted is an “alt-right” organization.
Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) organization founded in 2019, typically promotes conservative values and has a history of support for former President Donald Trump.
The group's rallies have attracted thousands of attendees across the country, featuring nearly every 2024 Republican presidential candidate, including former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of the most outspoken anti-Trump candidates in the GOP primary field.
In response to Fox News' report, a TPAction spokesperson vigorously denied accusations of the group being “alt-right,” describing it as “a mainstream conservative organization and Tyler Bowyer is not some fringe personality – he's the COO of TPAction, an RNC committeeman from the state of Arizona, and one of the most accomplished political organizers in the country.”
The spokesperson rebutted claims that the event was unsafe for service members, noting that rally attendees were “some of the U.S. military's most ardent supporters.”
The warning that associating with the group could be a punishable offensive was the most upsetting part for TPAction.
“This should set off alarm bells throughout North Dakota and DC, that something is terribly wrong at the Minot Air Force base. This also warrants an immediate congressional hearing and investigation, and whoever is responsible should be held accountable. It's exactly this type of poison that has caused the Air Force to miss its recruiting goal for the first time in decades.”
The Air Force referred Fox News' request for comment to the public affairs office at Minot AFB, which has yet to respond.
READ NEXT: Longtime House Dem Shares New Retirement Plan
