Selected Article Excerpts:

Ray Giunta has been publicly called out for illegally taking $10,200 from a cemetery board, falsely claiming to have advanced degrees and diagnosing young people as having mental disorders despite not being a doctor. But on Wednesday, he will get a coveted perch at the Pentagon, as a guest speaker at the Defense Department’s prayer breakfast.

“Arming a well known Christian fundamentalist scam-artist like Giunta with an homage so profound as to be the designated special guest speaker at this highly visible Pentagon religious event is simply beyond the pale of acceptability and literally strains credulity,” said Michael Weinstein, the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is calling on the Pentagon to revoke Giunta’s invitation.

Weinstein and MRFF, which is dedicated to protecting military members’ religious freedoms, first became aware of Giunta’s speaking slot when the group’s clients stationed at the Pentagon complained about the event. MRFF, on behalf of these 211 members of the armed forces, is demanding that the Pentagon revoke its invitation to Giunta. Of MRFF’s clients, 189 are practicing Protestants or Roman Catholics. Further, MRFF wants an investigation into who was involved in inviting Giunta and how the event came about.

A major who works on the Army staff at the Pentagon and is one of MRFF’s clients told The Huffington Post he was deeply disturbed by Giunta’s planned appearance, for the harm it could do to the Defense Department and the larger message it conveyed. He requested anonymity for fear of repercussions. […] He added that he was worried that Giunta’s appearance was part of a larger effort by some people in the military to turn members of the armed forces into “warriors for God.” “That’s not our mission,” he added. “We have a constitutional mission, not a religious mission.”