Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at his confirmation hearing refused to rule out opening fire on protesters if Trump ordered it.
As Donald Trump ramps up his use of the military to quell domestic dissent, he has on his side a Pentagon chief apparently ready to carry out any order Trump gives him, possibly including a potentially illegal one to shoot American citizens.
Pete Hegseth, specifically asked during his January confirmation hearing whether he would have obeyed a 2020 Trump demand to shoot protesters — as Trump had wanted then-Secretary Mark Esper to do in his first term — would not answer and instead dodged the question.
On Monday, even as California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Trump and Hegseth to rescind the deployment because he had not requested it, as he said the law requires, Trump escalated the situation by adding 700 Marines, a full battalion, to the mix.
It is unclear what, precisely, they can accomplish. Federal law prohibits them from arresting people unless Trump were to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act. While he has referred to the protesters as “insurrectionists” multiple times, he has not used his authority to declare the riot an “insurrection” against the United States, which would suggest that the participants are trying to overthrow the national government.
I’d like to hope you’re not wrong. When I was in, honor, integrity, and empathy were tenants put above duty to any one person. I’ve seen a lot of this anti-soldier sentiment coming in the wake of the CNG being deployed to LA. As far as I have seen, there have been no instances of the California National Guard acting out of line according to the UCMJ. I don’t expect all of the men and women, currently serving, to honor their oath as this country has been fed a steady stream of hateful and vitriolic propaganda from all forms of available media, mainstream and social. However, I have to believe those who commit atrocities will be the minority, not the majority.
Let’s hope there are vets in the crowd to remind them that their oath is to a principal and not a “man.”