US Black Hawk Pilot Says He Has Religious Right to Sell LSD
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army has argued that he has the religious right to sell LSD on the dark web.
Black Hawk pilot Kyle Norton Riester claimed in a civil lawsuit that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 allowed him to sell and take the hallucinogenic drug because his "sacramental use" of LSD was part of a communal "religious exercise."
The government is currently investigating Riester for drug trafficking. He denies the charge, saying he was facilitating religious experiences for himself and his community, although he has admitted to selling LSD over the internet and has asked for injunctive relief from those accusing him of drug trafficking.
Riester's religious freedom request for relief and his request to continue taking LSD while proceedings are ongoing were rejected by Judge Anthony J. Trenga this week.
A lawyer for Riester has been contacted via email for further comment.
An illustration shows a hallucinogenic drug.
An illustration shows a hallucinogenic drug.
Peter Hamlin/AP Illustration
Why It Matters
Religious liberty is a fundamental tenet of the U.S. Constitution, however, Trenga has ruled it does not stretch to selling illegal drugs via the dark web.
Any consumption of a hallucinogenic drug is also a disqualifying factor for pilots, per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
What To Know
Riester filed his case against Attorney General Pam Bondi and several other members of the Trump administration on April 3.
The Virginia-based first lieutenant, who is currently serving on active duty with the 12th Aviation Battalion, has argued that he "is a sincere religious practitioner" whose religious practice of sacramental LSD consumption is being impeded by the defendants.
An Army spokesperson told The Washington Post that Riester's discharge is pending and that he had been reassigned to administrative duties.
Riester had his first experience with the Schedule I drug while attending the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He says this experience "was deeply religious and mystical in nature—allowing him direct communion with his creator."
According to his court filings, Riester claims that he used to consume LSD with a group of other religious practitioners in person, but that became more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During that time of "desperate need," he felt "a moral and religious obligation to provide his co-religionists with Sacrament should they be unable to acquire Sacrament-grade LSD safely and securely," which is why he "adapted" to an online marketplace to sell LSD to his community.
He used Bitcoin to facilitate these alleged transactions and has said he also believes Bitcoin to be sacred because of its "ability to facilitate transactions for the exchange of his Holy Sacrament to other co-religionists."
His religion was not named in court documents or at Wednesday's hearing but Riester said his religious beliefs can be corroborated through Substack articles shared by him between 2021 and 2022. Those posts no longer appear to be available on Substack.
His filings state that he sold LSD via the dark web between September 2022 and May 2024.
This illustrative image shows a poster showing the seized website screen dark web site Deep.Dot.Web during a news conference in Pittsburgh on May 8, 2019.
This illustrative image shows a poster showing the seized website screen dark web site Deep.Dot.Web during a news conference in Pittsburgh on May 8, 2019.
Keith Srakocic/AP Photo
His home was raided on August 5, 2024, where FBI agents found no evidence of the drug itself but did seize electronic items and demanded Reister take a urine test.
He spent months collaborating with law enforcement officials after the raid and was given an April 4 deadline to take a plea deal.
Riester argued that any plea that forced him to cease the use of LSD would be an infringement of his religious rights and would cause him to "suffer irreparable harm to his conscience and religious identity."
Riester's lawyers argue that the government "has no compelling interest in enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against the plaintiff" because, according to their filings "LSD has been long-noted to have both a health and safety and abuse profile of a sufficient quality to negate any alleged 'compelling' governmental interest in enforcing the criminal provisions of the Controlled Substances Act."
These arguments have been refuted by U.S. Attorneys who have said that Riester only claimed religious freedom grounds eight months after finding out about his drug trafficking investigation.
They say that: "He did not sell LSD in the context of a religious gathering or ritual, or to people with whom he shared spiritual experiences; he sold LSD on the dark web, a forum designed to ensure the anonymity of its users. These circumstances strongly suggest that Plaintiff's distribution was a 'personal belief' and a 'choice that he made,' rather than a spiritual practice."
The attorneys also dispute the idea that Riester was only selling LSD to religious practitioners. According to their suit, he sold LSD to a 15-year-old and an undercover law enforcement officer. They claim that Riester did not make any effort when selling the drug to ensure that it only went to religious practitioners.
What People Are Saying
Kyle Norton Riester court filings: "Plaintiff has primarily engaged in LSD use as part of a communal and intentional ritual, ceremony, and/or practice aimed at spiritual transformation and religious revelation preferring communal sellings which promote safety, reflection, and shared religious experience."
U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia court filings: "Even if Plaintiff could show a sincerely held religious belief in distribution, courts have long recognized the government's compelling interest in preventing the diversion of controlled substances from religious to recreational users.
"That risk is especially acute here, where Plaintiff solicited customers through the anonymous dark web and shipped at least 1,797 orders of LSD to users across the country. Indeed, the risk of diversion from Plaintiff's sales is more than theoretical—the government can prove that Plaintiff actually sold LSD to a minor as well as an undercover officer. The government can police the diversion of drugs on the dark web only by prosecuting those, like Plaintiff, who engage in it."
What Happens Next
As a result of his motions pleading religious exemptions, Riester missed the April 4 deadline to sign a plea deal drafted by the government, which would have resulted in him pleading guilty to a number of charges. He will now face a trial which is set to begin in July.
Riester is also facing another court case in Texas over alleged money laundering.
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