FACT CHECK: No, US Navy JAG Did Not Convict Colorado Supreme Court Justices Of Treason

A post shared on Facebook claims the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps has purportedly convicted four Colorado Supreme Court justices of treason.

Verdict: False

The claim is false and stems from a May 28 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

Back in December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court voted to disqualify 2024 presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump from the state’s election ballot, citing Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, The Associated Press reported. According to the outlet, Section 3 prohibits individuals who have engaged in insurrection from holding office.

“JAG Convicts Colorado Supreme Court Justices Of Treason,” the Facebook post purports. The post features an image of seven justices, with the four who were purportedly convicted marked with red circles.

The claim is false and stems from a May 28 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice [of] legal counsel,” the disclaimer reads.

According to the May 28 article, Justices Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, Monica Márquez, and William W. Hood were purportedly convicted of treason by Navy JAG for “label[ing] [former] President Trump an insurrectionist and disqualified him from appearing on the state’s primary ballot.”

The article further claims the justices “went through the Constitution with a fine-tooth comb, looking for loopholes to exploit that would let them ban President Trump. Finding none, they collectively, willfully, chose to misinterpret the exclusionary cause to fit their agenda—denying Colorado citizens their constitutional right to vote for Trump.” They were allegedly sentenced to death by hanging on June 3, according to the same article.

Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Likewise, the claim is not referenced on the website of the Colorado Supreme Court, and Trump has not publicly commented on the claim. In addition, Navy JAG has not released a statement about the claim. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Cat In Rafah?)

Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.

“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.

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