The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) governs the conduct of every person in the United States military, and applies equally to all ranks and branches, whether in combat, or not.
All servicemembers are taught, and are expected to understand, its core principles. Ignorantia juris non excusat, or ‘Ignorance of the law,’ is not a legal defense in the US military. Under Art. 92 of the UCMJ, members have a duty to obey all lawful commands, and they have a parallel duty to disobey all unlawful commands. Obeying a manifestly illegal order, like an order to target civilians, can expose a service member to criminal liability.
The duty to disobey manifestly illegal orders is a cornerstone of international law, with foundations inNazi-related post-WWII trials like Nuremberg. Orders of such nature that their unlawfulness is clear and obvious, such as an order to target unarmed civilians, are considered manifestly illegal.
Trump, Hegseth are issuing manifestly illegal orders to murder civilians
Trump has ordered the summary execution of at least 83 people so far in suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Trump and Hegseth call these targets ‘narco-terrorists’ because they think that means they can treat them as enemy combatants in a war that does not exist.
It doesn’t. Even if the victims were “narco-terrorists,” for which Trump has provided zero evidence, at worst, they are citizen criminals entitled to interdiction and legal process under US and international law. No country has the right to execute non-combatant civilians unless faced with imminent threat, otherwise unhinged leaders could shoot people for sport, which Trump’s snuff videos are chillingly starting to resemble.
The international condemnation of Trump’s campaign is growing, along with global accusations of murder that would be louder if Trump didn’t threaten foreign trade in response to criticism. Formerly strong US allies, including the UK, Colombia, and the Netherlands, have either refused or suspended related intelligence sharing with the US because of the illegal strikes. Military support groups are starting to talk in earnest, offering counseling and advice on what to do when faced with illegal order situations.
Trump calls for the execution of US lawmakers
Against this legal framework, the President of the United States has called for the prosecution, conviction, and death penalty for federal legislators who had the good sense to remind military personnel that they must follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice. After six legislators, all former military or intelligence officers, released a video reminding members of their duty to disobey illegal orders, Trump came unglued. Now threatening the legislators with federal investigations, Trump unleashed a series of posts confirming that he is a danger to all Americans and unfit to lead the military. Trump wrote:
"It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand - We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET."
"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" he added in a later post.
Eliciting stochastic violence, Trump then reposted other posts calling the lawmakers "traitors" and "domestic terrorist Democrats" and another reading, "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"
Trump is criminally insane. What are officials waiting for to remove him?
The evidence that Trump is unfit to lead, and is a metastasizing threat to the US citizenry, is objectively irrefutable:
At the same time Trump is violating the rule of law at home, transforming the nation into an occupied military zone, his administration’s national security blunders have exposed America to increased risk from foreign actors. Too numerous to list, obvious errors include sharing a plan of foreign attack through unsecured sources; firing seasoned experts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration; social media posts that gave Iran advance notice to move their enriched uranium; accidently declaring part of Mexico as US territory now under US command; undermining security alliances, demoralizing Ukraine, and supporting Putin’s murderous regime; claiming victory in Gaza even as both sides continue shooting; and, most recently, selling fighter jets to Saudi Arabia despite national security warnings.
These cumulative blunders suggest he doesn’t care about long term, or even short term, risks to national security. For example, Trump’s plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia ignore national security warnings that the sale will reveal America’s most advanced military technology to the Chinese. Trump either doesn’t know, or lacks the cognitive capacity to understand, that Riyadh and Beijing have a formal security partnership. “We will be doing that, we’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, because the Saudis “want to buy them, they’ve been a great ally.”
Federal officials, including his cabinet, and members of Congress, all swore an oath to follow the Constitution and protect the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Legal tools within their reach include impeachment and removal, Congressional oversight and the power of the purse, and the 25th Amendment.
This is not a partisan issue. America is in danger. Federal officials’ complicity and failure to act is becoming a dereliction of duty in service to a man whose cognition is in question, who still has access to the nuclear codes.
Sabrina Haake is a columnist and 25+ year federal trial attorney specializing in 1st and 14th A defense. Her Substack, The Haake Take, is free.
