Censorship such as AT&T DirecTV's deplatforming of Newsmax is "ridiculous" and "not what we raised our hand to support and defend," retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Sunday.
"Our oath, whether you're retired or not, is without expiration," Holt told "Wake Up America," adding it is "really troubling" to see how companies act while taking money from the government act as DirecTV has been.
"They took all the PPP loans that they possibly could and they get all these subsidies and big government contracts for cell phones," he said of AT&T, DirecTV's parent company. "To infringe on our basic rights, to go ahead and squelch and attempt to squelch groups that don't agree with them, that's horrendous."
Such actions are "not what we defended when we went off to war, and it's got to be addressed," Holt added.
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain
"This is really a dangerous time," Holt continued, pointing to "the wife of a prominent senator" he heard has called "the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and founding documents were troubling.
"That's nonsense," he said.
Holt did not mention the woman's name, but last week, Anne Holton, wife of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the Declaration of Independence and Constitution as "fundamental in enshrining slavery," Breitbart reported.
Her comments were made while Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin's new history standards were approved by a 5-3 vote by the Commonwealth's Board of Education, of which she is a member.
Holt's comments follow DirecTV's deplatforming of Newsmax from 13 million subscriber homes Jan. 24, marking the second time AT&T removed a conservative channel from the service in the past year, with OAN being deplatformed in April.
DirecTV cited "cost-cutting" for removing both networks, but continues to carry 22 liberal news channels, which all receive license fees, but has denied Newsmax any ability to receive similar payments though it has higher ratings than most other news channels.
Nielsen says Newsmax is the fourth highest-rated news channel in the U.S., reaching 25 million Americans on cable.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy maintains AT&T DirecTV's deplatforming was "a blatant act of censorship."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain.
2. AT&T customers call toll free at 888-855-2338 to cancel/complain for U-verse, cellular and wireless services.
3. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
4. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax. com.