§ Article 134 : Disloyal Statements

Disloyal statements is an enumerated offense under Article 134 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 934), the General Article. It punishes communicating a statement disloyal to the United States with intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection among members of the armed forces, or to impair their loyalty or good order and discipline, when the conduct is prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting.

Disambiguation — this is not Article 134 itself

Article 134 is a general clause under which the Manual for Courts-Martial lists numerous separately defined offenses. Disloyal statements is one of those enumerated offenses.

Who It Applies To

Any person subject to the UCMJ who communicates to another person a statement disloyal to the United States, with intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States among members of the armed forces, or to interfere with or impair their loyalty or good order and discipline, under circumstances that are prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting.

What It Covers

1. The accused made a certain statement.
2. The statement was communicated to another person.
3. The statement was disloyal to the United States.
4. The statement was made with intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States by any member of the armed forces, or to interfere with or impair the loyalty to the United States or good order and discipline of any member of the armed forces.
5. Under the circumstances, the accused’s conduct was prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces, was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, or both.

Key rules

• Under the Manual, examples include praising the enemy, attacking the war aims of the United States, or denouncing the U.S. form of government with intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection among members of the armed forces.
• A declaration of personal belief can be a disloyal statement if it disavows the allegiance the speaker owes to the United States.
• The disloyalty must be to the United States as a political entity, not merely to a department or agency of its administration.
• Some statements that are not offenses under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2385, 2387, or 2388 may still be punishable under this provision.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 3 years.

Sentencing parameters. Category 1 (0–12 months).

The newer sentencing rules apply, subject to the capital-case rules, when the accused is convicted only of offenses committed after 27 December 2023. See How UCMJ Sentencing Rules Apply. The maximum authorized punishment and the applicable sentencing framework do not predict the sentence in a particular case.

Related and Distinguished

Disloyal statements may be made by one person and require no concerted action, unlike sedition under Article 94. Contemptuous words by a commissioned officer against specified officials are addressed by Article 88, and communicating with the enemy by Article 103b.

What the Provision Does

This offense can be committed by one person without concerted action, but it requires a statement disloyal to the United States, communicated to another, with the intent described in the Manual. The maximum confinement is 3 years.

History

Disloyal statements was an enumerated Article 134 offense in the 2016 edition of the Manual for Courts-Martial (paragraph 72). The 2018 amendments to the Manual (Executive Order 13825), effective January 1, 2019, carried it forward as the current paragraph 97.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 934 (Article 134, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 97
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 17 (Analysis of Punitive Articles)
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 2385, 2387, 2388 (referenced in the Manual)