The Pentagon denies the untruths about the use of force by troops during the elections

By TARA COPP

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare move, the Pentagon on Thursday pushed back strongly against disinformation spread on social media falsely suggesting that U.S. forces have been authorized to use force against American citizens during the election.

The misinformation – spread online by former Trump administration national security advisor Michael Flynn and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.among other things — suggests that a Defense Department policy review released in late September was timely to disrupt the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The use of force by federal forces on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens is against the law – except in cases of self-defense – and is set forth in the Posse Comitatus Act.

Kennedy, who ended his presidential bid and endorsed Republican former President Donald Trumptweeted the false story to his 4 million followers. It has been falsely claimed that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, pushed through a Defense Department directive authorizing lethal force against Americans protesting government policies.

The revision in question is Department of Defense Directive 5240.01, which does not authorize troops to use force against U.S. citizens. The timing of the release was not related to the election, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough said.

“The Department of Defense use of force policy addressed in DoDD 5240.01 is not new and does not authorize the Department of Defense to use lethal force against U.S. citizens or persons located in the United States, contrary to the rumors and rhetoric circulating on social media,” Gough said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The Pentagon regularly updates its guidelines. This update was intended to align the use of force language from other policies with 5240.01, which applies only to defense intelligence personnel.

It describes what type of support these personnel can provide to civilian law enforcement in situations where a confrontation or deadly use of force is likely.

Defense intelligence personnel can provide intelligence, analysis, training, equipment and even weapons to civilian authorities. But they are still prohibited from using violence themselves in such situations.

Originally published: October 25, 2024 at 9:52 am