A top Pentagon adviser warned about the potential for deadly consequences of the so-called illegal orders campaign pioneered by some Democratic lawmakers, even as billboards are promoting the same messages outside military bases and near deportation operations in several states.
Service members who must make split-second decisions shouldn’t have to worry, Eric Geressy, a senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 3.
“Do they pull the trigger?” he asked. “If they don’t, could that cause a major mistake and injure one of our service members or cost someone their life because they hesitate?”
A controversial “refuse illegal orders” video released last month by six Democratic lawmakers said military service members must refuse illegal orders from the Trump administration. The lawmakers didn’t state which orders were allegedly illegal.
Billboards featuring a similar message have sprung up near military bases and immigration enforcement flashpoints around the nation.
Geressy said that while the messaging hasn’t triggered concerns that service members will defy orders, the attempt to seed doubt when troops are faced with life or death situations could have deadly consequences.
President Donald Trump and other Republicans have denounced the premise of the November video.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Nov. 20. “Seditious behavior from traitors!!! Lock them up???”
Meanwhile, groups such as Win Without War have targeted service members deployed for immigration and border security operations with billboards questioning their missions surrounding federal deportation efforts and strikes against cartels in the Caribbean.
Win Without War, founded by the nonprofit Center for International Policy, advocates against U.S. military intervention abroad and actions against foreign terrorist groups, according to Influence Watch.
The group promoted that message on billboards near military bases and in cities where National Guard units were deployed. The billboards questioned the domestic use of the military and strikes in the Caribbean against suspected cartel drug boats.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Epoch Times that whether it’s videos or billboards, troops should not be fooled into believing their orders are illegal.
“Don’t fall for it. Be smart,” he advised military members. “That billboard’s not going to defend you in court when you’re court-martialed.”
He added, “Shame on these individuals for seeking to jeopardize military careers over a political issue.”
Encrypted Messages
The Win Without War billboards direct troops to a website for additional information.
The website, NotWhatYouSignedUpFor.org, was launched in October by Win Without War. It offers military personnel information on “legal or moral questions” surrounding their missions.
Billboards in Chicago, where Texas and California Guardsmen were deployed to protect federal personnel and property, asked, “You joined to serve your community, so what are you doing in Chicago?”
Trump dispatched National Guard members in the fall to support crime prevention efforts and protect federal immigration officers in Chicago and other cities.
“Did you go airborne just to pull security for ICE?” stated a billboard in Fayetteville, North Carolina, near the Fort Bragg military base. Two support battalion companies from the base had been deployed in February to help secure the southern border.
In Doral, Florida, home to the U.S. Southern Command, which is conducting strikes against drug boats in the Caribbean, a billboard read: “Southcom: Don’t let them make you break the law.”
The website connects service members to organizations such as About Face and the National Lawyers’ Guild Military Law Task Force.
“You saw the billboard. You have questions. You’re not alone,” the website states.
The site recommends using encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal and ProtonMail, to contact resources and masking computer IP addresses with a virtual private network to “reduce risk.”
It advises visitors not to use “a military or government computer, email account, phone, or Wi-Fi network.”
According to a news release announcing its launch, the website aims to “connect active duty, National Guard, and reserve members of the military with key resources on responding to unlawful orders, seeking discharge from the military, and understanding their rights while in uniform.”
“We want our troops to know someone has their back—because this administration doesn’t,” the release stated.
In the November video released on social media, six Democrats—Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.)—stated that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home.”
The nonprofit running the billboard campaign defended the video, issuing a statement on Nov. 21 condemning Trump’s statement that the Democrats appearing in it should be held accountable for seditious behavior.
“This president has made clear that any affirmation or exercise of Constitutional rights is considered a threat to his presumed power,” the release said.
The group said the Trump administration placed service members “into legally murky—and at times blatantly illegal—missions,” citing domestic deployment and strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific as examples.
Win Without War did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
Public Reaction
The “illegal orders” video generated significant attention on social media, prompting the FBI to seek to question the six Democrats involved. Hegseth issued a memorandum requesting a review of “potentially unlawful” conduct by Kelly, a retired Navy captain.
States such as Illinois, Oregon, and California—where locals have engaged in widespread protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids—have filed lawsuits against Trump’s efforts to use the National Guard to support the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Likewise, Democrats have criticized Hegseth for authorizing strikes against boats identified by the military as carrying drugs for cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
A Harvard/Harris poll conducted in October showed 56 percent of registered voters support deporting all illegal aliens, while 78 percent support deporting criminal illegal immigrants.
A November Gallup poll shows the percentage of Americans who believe the nation has made progress in dealing with the problem of illegal drugs has jumped to 45 percent, the highest Gallup has recorded since 2000.
Geressy said it’s hard to understand how anyone could be against safer cities, but concedes there’s always room to improve messaging. Public support for deporting illegal immigrants and stopping illicit drugs from pouring into the country remains high, according to polls conducted this fall.
McCormick added that going after cartels is justified. The loss of American lives tied to illicit drugs such as fentanyl trafficked by cartels into the country is staggering, surpassing wartime casualties.
“We’ve lost a million people from drug traffic,” he said. “This is the biggest war we’ve ever fought, and they’re saying, don’t fight the war.”
Another poll conducted last month by Reuters/Ipsos shows only 29 percent of Americans support using the military to kill drug suspects. Over a six-day period, 1,200 U.S. adults nationwide were interviewed, and it had a three percent margin of error.
Nathan Worcester and Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.
