As the Army transports military equipment to the nation’s capital in preparation for next week’s military parade in honor of its 250th birthday—and Trump’s 79th—one tank transporter carried a sinister, graffitied message: “Hang Fauci & Bill Gates.” A video of that transporter was shared by the Army’s official X account and was viewied nearly 700,000 times after it was left up for 24 hours. It has subsequently been taken down and disavowed: “That statement does not align with Army values,” Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson, told The Washington Post, which first reported on the graffiti.


Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rose to prominence as a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force during the Covid pandemic. His leadership and deference to science made him a villain of the right, resulting in him being placed under investigation by the GOP and receiving countless “credible death threats.” Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has also long been the center of right-wing ire and conspiracy theories.

While it’s not clear who is responsible for the graffiti, it is deeply troubling to see a call for the murder of two high-profile, politically liberal civilians on an Army vehicle and on the Army’s official account. It underscores the charged political environment that surrounds the Trump administration. The parade itself—scheduled for June 14—will be a massive, resounding demonstration of the military’s power and loyalty to Trump.

A battalion of active-duty Marines -- around 700 troops -- based out of Twentynine Palms, California, received deployment orders to Los Angeles on Monday after President Donald Trump's commandeering and deployment of the state's National Guard troops to the city over the weekend, defense officials confirmed to Military.com on Monday.

The deployment marks a sharp escalation in the military's role in domestic unrest in the city caused by immigration raids by the Trump administration. It also shows Trump's willingness to sidestep norms in his immigration crackdown by potentially pitting the military against civilians on American soil. Both California's governor and the city's mayor have publicly come out against the deployment of troops.

A defense official told Military.com that 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, an infantry unit, has departed its California base and was bound for Los Angeles as of Monday afternoon. However, Pentagon and U.S. Northern Command officials declined to comment on what the Corps' mission will be once the Marines arrive on the streets of Los Angeles, or how long they would be deployed.

Two defense officials told Military.com that the Insurrection Act, a law that could expand the president's ability to wield the military within the U.S., had not been invoked by Monday afternoon.