The US Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps on Tuesday court martialed and convicted a senior California National Guard non-commissioned officer, finding him guilty of mutiny, sedition, and less egregious crimes.
As reported in June, US Marines arrested Command Chief Master Sergeant Lynn E. Williams at his California home. Williams had been part of Task Force 51, the military’s joint operation to stop anti-ICE protesters from interfering with federal forces and causing mass chaos throughout downtown Los Angeles. His arrest was based on a military affidavit alleging he was an illegal alien sympathizer in cahoots with Mayor Karen Bass. He had told her that “Trump’s not my president” and that he would order his subordinates to defy the President’s immigration policies.
JAG charged Williams under Article 94 (mutiny or sedition), Article 92 (dereliction of duty), and Article 82 (soliciting the commission of offenses) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
On Tuesday, July 22, Williams and a JAG-appointed lawyer appeared in court as Rear Admiral Lia Reynolds, the acting staff judge advocate, seated the panelists JAG had chosen to weigh the merits of the case. She noted that Williams had entered a plea of “not guilty” and invoked Article 31, which is similar to certain Fifth Amendment rights, particularly the right to remain silent.
Williams’ attorney, in an opening statement, argued that his client had no obligation to uphold “immoral” orders.
“My client is a man of conscience, an ethical man who protests the deployment of the United States Armed Forces on American soil, a blatant breach of the Posse Comitatus Act. He feels that the deployment was an illegal order, issued by a man he refuses to recognize as the Commander-in-Chief. My client rejects absolutely the rounding up and locking up of hardworking undocumented persons who have been living peaceful, productive lives in the United States for decades,” the lawyer fervently told the panel.
Admiral Reynolds stated that Title 10 of the US Code grants the President unilateral authority to deploy the National Guard in situations where the United States is invaded, faces rebellion, or when the President determines that the regular forces are insufficient to execute the laws.
“Our nation has been invaded—by 20 million illegals. President Trump didn’t order the defendant to wantonly shoot illegal immigrants. He tasked the National Guard with protecting federal buildings and, if necessary, briefly detaining violent protesters until state law enforcement arrived. The defendant hates President Trump, and the evidence will show that,” she said.
She played for the panel the telephone conversation between Williams and Bass, which Marine Corps Forces Cyber Space Command had “obtained” prior to Williams’ arrest. Besides denouncing Trump as a “thuggish goon” and saying Trump wasn’t his President, Williams said he would resist “Trump’s tyranny” and implore his fellow NCOs to follow his lead.
His statements to bass included “I serve California, not Trump,” “I’ll advise the undocumented how to avoid ICE,” “I’d rather shoot an ICE agent than harass even one undocumented person,” “If anyone deserves detainment, it’s Trump,” “Someone’s got to stop Trump, if you know what I mean,” “I know he’s coming after my people, Black people, next,” and “MAGA should be in concentration camps instead of undocumented people.”
“Yeah, I despise Donald Trump. We all do, and that’s keeping it real,” Williams suddenly blurted, seemingly referencing the punchline to comedian Dave Chappelle’s satirical “When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong” skits.
“Control your client, if you’d please,” Admiral Reynolds told Williams’ lawyer.
Over the next hour, she called two witnesses, both Task Force 51 NCOs who had served under Williams in Los Angeles. Their testimony was chilling. They claimed a rampaging Williams had ordered them to warn illegals of impending ICE raids and to safely escort them to a “safe zone” south of the city.
“He [Williams] told me we should train illegals to fight ICE,” one witness said.
“Williams approached me like a crazed madman and said to me it was our job to protect illegals from being detained or deported. I listened to his crazy talk but didn’t do what he wanted me to do,” the second witness said, adding, “And that he couldn’t wait for the day another assassin took a shot at Trump.”
Williams’ lawyer neither cross-examined the witnesses nor challenged the taped phone call, but he had told the panel, “My client is governed by his passions. That doesn’t make him a criminal.”
The panelists disagreed. They delivered a verdict of guilty and recommended maximum punishment.
Without hesitation, Admiral Reynolds demoted him to the rank of E-1, ordered that he be dishonorably discharged, and scheduled him to hang to death on July 29.