The Wednesday after he [Sgt. Phillip Monk, who was later featured in a Ted Cruz ad claiming he was “fired” from the Air Force for expressing support for “traditional” marriage] went on leave [that he requested], I was at a restaurant, and my major called me. “Have you seen Fox News?” he asked. And there was Monk, on Fox News, talking about how I fired him over religious freedom.
Then he went to the Liberty Counsel, and they changed it completely. They said I’m a lesbian, and I had an agenda. Monk went on this crusade against me. I’m getting hate mail and death threats because of this.
— Lt. Col. Liz Valenzuela, recounting the many holes in the story of Sgt. Monk who has become a right wing darling claiming his religious liberties were infringed by his commanding officer. After receiving ~13 complaints from trainees about Monk’s comments that “Homosexuals were the downfall of Rome, and now they’ll be the downfall of the military, and the military will fall because of their lust and greed,” Lt. Col. Valenzuela gave Monk a warning. Monk then requested leave, as he was already scheduled to rotate out of the position. And that’s when he took to the media circuit.