Episode 131: - Benjamin, Stand Down…But Keep Your Powder Dry

In this amped up episode, Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a U.S. Navy TOPGUN fighter pilot turned founder of the Sacred Warrior Fellowship, reacts to a landmark legal victory for religious liberty and why it’s reason for both celebration and vigilance. A federal judge ruled that Singularism, a small entheogen-based faith community in Utah, has its sacramental use of psilocybin protected under Utah’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court blasted the state’s actions as “offensively broad,” “ironic,” and tantamount to harassment, ordering the return of sacramental psilocybin seized in a controversial raid.
For Whiz, who served 15 years defending the Constitution, this is more than a legal win, it’s a frontline moment in the battle to protect the First Amendment. As the judge noted, true religious freedom must protect unfamiliar faiths as fiercely as familiar ones, and sincerity of belief - not tradition - is the key criterion.
Through the lens of Sacred Warrior Fellowship, Whiz explains how this precedent strengthens protections for entheogenic churches across the nation. The message is clear: stand down for now, but keep your powder dry. Government overreach can appear without warning, and when it does, he’ll be ready to fight again.