Over the weekend, retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who served for a brief time as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, said that a coup “should happen” in the United States.
Speaking at the For God and Country Patriot Roundup in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, Flynn was asked by a man who described himself as a Marine “why what happened in Myanmar can’t happen here?” in reference to a coup d’état that began there in February when the country’s military declared a state of emergency over election irregularities in the country and deposed the country’s democratically elected government.
Responding to the question, Flynn said, “No reason. I mean, it should happen here. No reason.”
“Here is the video of former national security advisor Michael Flynn saying that he thinks a coup like the coup in Myanmar should happen in the US,” a Twitter user tweeted with video of Flynn offering his remarks.
Following his remarks, Flynn posted a comment to Parler, denying he was calling for a coup against the U.S.
Flynn posted on Sunday, “For all the fake news ‘journalists’: Let me be VERY CLEAR – There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort. Any reporting of any other belief by me is a boldface fabrication based on twisted reporting at a lively panel at a conference of Patriotic Americans who love this country, just as I do. I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America).”
Flynn left his position as National Security Advisor to Trump after less than a month. He was later prosecuted on allegations he lied to the FBI about a conversation he had with a Russian official prior to Trump taking office. Flynn eventually pled guilty to the charges, but Flynn sought new legal support with attorney Sidney Powell and began to contest his guilty plea in court. In April 2020, notes from the FBI were released that described plans to set up an interview with Flynn to “get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
In May, the Department of Justice moved to drop the case “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.” The DOJ further said that the interview during which he allegedly lied to the FBI was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis” and was “untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn.”
Despite moving to drop his case, Judge Emmett Sullivan chose to instead solicit outside legal opinions as to whether the case should be dropped. In November, then-President Trump granted Flynn a full pardon, rendering the issue a moot point.
During the contentious 2020 U.S. election process, as Trump raised several allegations of election irregularities, Flynn shared a tweet linking to a call for Trump to declare martial law and order a new election with the U.S. military overseeing the new vote.
