How a TV Tough Guy Turned the U.S. Military Into a Floating Execution Squad: The Order Nobody Will Admit...But Everyone Is Talking About

Why ‘Kill Everybody’ Isn’t Just a Quote...It’s a Warning Shot

How a TV Tough Guy Turned the U.S. Military Into a Floating Execution Squad: The Order Nobody Will Admit…But Everyone Is Talking About

Why ‘Kill Everybody’ Isn’t Just a Quote...It’s a Warning Shot

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #666: Saturday, November 29th, 2025.

You and I both know America has always had “that guy” on TV.

The one who slams his fist on the desk… talks like he’s sitting in a bar… sneers at “weakness”… and promises that if he were in charge, he’d “take the gloves off” and “do what it takes.”

Well…congratulations.

That guy…now runs the Pentagon.

And according to multiple reports…that guy…Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth… allegedly gave a verbal command… that boils down to two words…that should send a chill…down the spine of every sane American:

“Kill everybody.”

Not metaphorically. Not as a bad joke over beers.
But as an order tied to a real-world U.S. military operation at sea… where real human beings were obliterated.

Today, you’re going to see exactly:

• What Hegseth is alleged to have ordered

• Why lawyers…human-rights experts…and even some inside the system are whispering the words “war crime”

• How this isn’t some far-off foreign-policy story…but a dress rehearsal for what an unrestrained Trump machine can…and will do…closer to home

• And what you can do about it… before “kill everybody” becomes the new normal.

This isn’t just another Trump scandal.

This is the moment the mask slipped…and the world got a look at the true face of “law and order” under an authoritarian who thinks he’s been given a blank check to kill.

1. The Boat…the Strike, and the Alleged Order to “Kill Everybody”

Start here:

• September 2, 2025: A suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean is hit by a U.S. missile strike. The Trump administration says this is part of its fresh “war on cartels.”

• The vessel is destroyed. Several people on board are killed instantly. But according to reporting based on internal documents and sources…some of the 11 people survived the first blast.

• The key allegation: Pete Hegseth verbally ordered that there be no survivors… effectively, “kill everybody”…and a second strike was launched that killed the remaining people in the water.

The official line?

• The Pentagon has called these accounts “completely false” and framed the second strike as necessary to “eliminate hazards” from debris and possible explosives.

But here’s what else has been reported:

• This wasn’t a one-off. Since that first operation, at least 22 similar strikes on alleged “narco boats” in the Caribbean and Pacific have killed more than 80 people.

• There is no ongoing…recognized war with these people. They are not enemy soldiers on a battlefield. They’re suspected smugglers..killed without trial…judge… or jury.

And legal experts are not mincing words.

Former international prosecutors and human-rights authorities have said:

• Killing people in international waters outside a recognized armed conflict can constitute extrajudicial execution or even crimes against humanity.

• Deliberately killing wounded or incapacitated survivors is flat-out illegal under international law…the kind of thing we prosecute other countries for.

Think about that.

We’re not talking about a fog-of-war split-second decision by a 19-year-old in a firefight.

We’re talking about a cabinet official…sitting in a secure room…allegedly giving a verbal command….that everyone in the water… is to be killed.

That’s not “tough on crime.”
That’s the stuff of war-crimes tribunals.

2. How Did We Get a “Kill Everybody” Guy in Charge of the Pentagon?

None of this should be a surprise.

When Trump tapped Pete Hegseth…a Fox News culture-war attack dog…to run the Pentagon…the warning signs were already blinking red.

This is a man who:

• Built a brand sneering at the idea of “proportionality” and “restraint”

• Made his bones as a TV performer…not a disciplined strategist

• Has been repeatedly criticized for drinking…personal conduct…and belligerent… theatrical rhetoric.

And here’s the kicker:

• During his confirmation process…Hegseth openly proclaimed that he “supports Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas”…a total-kill formulation that tells you exactly how his mind approaches the idea of force: not as a last resort…but as an obliteration fantasy.

So when reports now surface that this same man is alleged to have given a “kill them all” or “kill everybody” type directive in a real-world U.S. operation…you’re not shocked…you’re seeing the logical extension of the persona Trump hired. Trump has been playing with these phrases, too:

• Talking about having “approval to go into war, kill everybody”… bragging about “non-international armed conflict” with cartels so he can treat them as enemy combatants and throw normal law out the window.

They’re not being cute.

They are trying to create a legal and psychological framework where “kill everybody” is no longer shocking…it’s “just how we do business” with anyone they decide fits into some new category of “enemy.”

Today it’s “narco terrorists” in the Caribbean.

Tomorrow?

You tell me.

3. The Psychology Behind “Kill Everybody”: How Authoritarians Train a Country

Here’s where your psychology lens comes in.

Because a phrase like “kill everybody” isn’t just about that one operation.

It’s a cognitive weapon.

It does three things at once:

1. Dehumanizes the target.
   “Narco terrorists.” “Unlawful combatants.” “Drug boats.” Not human beings. Not fathers…sons…deckhands…dumb kids roped into a bad job. Just “trash at sea.”

2. Wraps murder in righteousness.
   Trump shouts inflated overdose numbers and calls it an “assault on the American people,” as if obliterating people in international waters is a form of self-defense.

3. Tests the public’s tolerance.
   If they can get you to shrug at killing unarmed people in the water…far from American shores…then the Overton window…just moved. The next target…gets easier. The next category of “enemy” gets broader.

This is training.

They are training you to accept:

• Killing without due process

• Killing outside a declared war

• Killing for symbolism and TV optics, not necessity

They’re testing:

“If we say ‘drug boat’ enough times, will Americans accept ‘kill everybody’ as a policy tool?”

Some already are.

Early polls showed broad support when the strikes were framed as “destroying drug boats.” But when people were asked directly if they support killing suspected traffickers without judicial process…support plunged.

That tells you something crucial:

Most Americans still have a conscience…but they’re being systematically manipulated to ignore it.

Your job…as one of the few who actually pays attention…is to keep that conscience awake…in yourself…and in the people inside your circle of influence.

4. The Legal Fuse That Just Got Lit

Now let’s talk about the part that keeps generals and lawyers pacing at three in the morning.

If the reporting is accurate…and if a U.S. cabinet official knowingly ordered the killing of survivors in international waters… here’s what that opens up:

• War crimes exposure for everyone involved in planning and approving the operation

• Criminal liability under U.S. law for murder and conspiracy…if prosecutors ever decide to take it seriously

• International Criminal Court interest…not just in the strikes themselves…but in a systematic policy of extrajudicial killings framed as “war on cartels”

UN human-rights experts have already stepped in:

• Calling the strikes “extrajudicial executions”

• Saying the U.S. must halt these operations and investigate them

• Warning that this is happening outside any recognized armed conflict…which means the legal protections Trump and Hegseth keep waving around are on very thin ice.

Meanwhile, some U.S. allies are quietly backing away:

• Reports say at least one major ally has curtailed intelligence sharing over fears of being complicit in possible war crimes.

Here’s the dirty secret nobody on cable news wants to say out loud:

The people who actually launched these strikes could someday be sitting in a courtroom…answering for the orders of Pete Hegseth.

That’s the horror of following “kill everybody” orders:

• The TV loudmouth goes home and pours another drink.

• The President flies off to a rally…bragging about being “tough.”

• And the 28-year-old operator who pulled the trigger…is the one sweating bullets… about whether he just helped commit murder…on the high seas.

Do you think Elite, Tier One Operators…like those of SEAL Team “SIX,” or The Army’s Delta Force, “The Unit,” don’t worry about those actions, afterward…in decisions that might be questionable?

If you don’t think so…stop think that. I will tell you…with certainty…that they do.

If you care about the troops…really care…you don’t put them in that position.

You don’t hand them a defense secretary whose instinct is to act like the frat guy in the bar shouting, “Send it!” every time there’s a drone overhead.

5. Why This Should Terrify You More Than Any “Caravan” or Crime Headline

Maybe you’re thinking:

“Okay, Jack… it’s awful…but this is happening on the open ocean…to alleged smugglers. What does it have to do with me…my family…and my life on U.S. soil?”

Everything.

Because every authoritarian project follows the same playbook:

1. Start at the edges.
   The ocean. Foreigners. “Bad guys” nobody feels sympathy for.

2. Normalize the method.
   Strike without warning. No trial. No oversight. Wrap it in “national security.”

3. Slowly widen the scope.
   Protesters. “Terror sympathizers.” “Domestic enemies.” Anyone who gets in the way.

We’ve already watched Trump and his orbit flirt with calling political opponents “traitors” …and talking about “retribution.”

Now he’s formally declared a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels so he can argue that killing suspected traffickers without trial is just “war.”

How long before someone tries to reframe a domestic issue…protests…sanctuary cities… “antifa,” immigrant communities…in that same armed-conflict language?

How long before the phrase “kill everybody” stops being a one-off scandal and becomes a blueprint?

If you think that’s alarmist…remember:

• The same crowd insisting this is “no big deal” also told you January 6th was just “tourism.”

• The same ecosystem that shrugs at extrajudicial killings at sea…is already fantasizing about “taking the gloves off” at home.

The scary part isn’t that Pete Hegseth may have said “kill everybody.”

The scary part…is how many people….don’t find that disqualifying.

6. What Needs to Happen Now…and Where You Come In

Let’s talk brass tacks.

If this story dies as “just another headline,” here’s what you can expect:

• No real investigation

• Quiet adjustments to protocol behind the scenes

• A gradual hardening of the “we can kill whoever we want, wherever we want” precedent

• And a green light for even more reckless…legally dubious operations…because they got away with this one

What has to happen instead?

1. Full…public investigations…with receipts

Congress needs to:

• Subpoena the internal documents tied to the September 2 strike and subsequent operations

• Demand the unedited targeting footage…comms logs…and legal memos

• Put the lawyers and commanders under oath…on camera…about whether there was ever an order amounting to “no survivors”

You and I both know some in Congress will try to bury this.

That’s why ordinary citizens have to force it onto the front burner.

2. Draw the bright red legal line

Every time this story comes up…the conversation has to include:

• The basic fact that killing incapacitated survivors is a war crime

• The reality that “suspected drug trafficker” is not a magic phrase that suspends human rights

• The warning that if the U.S. normalizes this…we hand our enemies a propaganda weapon and invite blowback for decades

Say it plainly:

“If we accept ‘kill everybody’ at sea, we’re giving them permission to try it somewhere closer to home.”

3. Make it personal and political

This cannot stay an abstract legal debate.

It has to be:

• A Troops Issue: Don’t put American service members in the crosshairs of war-crimes charges because some TV pundit turned defense secretary wanted to cosplay “No Mercy.”

• A Rule-of-Law Issue: Either we believe in due process or we don’t. There is no “kill everybody” exception.

• A Democracy Issue: A government that claims the power to kill anyone… anywhere…without oversight…is not a government that recognizes limits.

7. Your Next Move (This Is Where We Stop Just Watching)

If you’ve read this far, you’re not a passive news consumer.

You’re one of the handful of people who actually does something.

Here’s what that looks like in the next 24–72 hours:

• Call your House member and both Senators.
  Say it clearly and calmly:

“I want public hearings on the alleged ‘kill everybody’ order by Pete Hegseth. I want subpoenas, unedited footage, and witnesses under oath. We don’t kill survivors in the water. That is not who America is.”

• Share this story with your circle.
  Not as doom porn. As a wake-up call. Add your own sentence:

“If we shrug at this, we’re approving it. I refuse to do that.”

• Support the people pushing for accountability.
  Legal orgs…human-rights groups…veteran advocates…the ones already calling these strikes unlawful and demanding investigations. They’re the ones who can turn outrage into court filings and testimony.

• Stay in the fight.
  Because here’s the truth the authoritarians are betting on:

“People will be shocked for 24 hours… then they’ll move on.”

Prove them wrong.

BONUS SECTION: The World Just Watched…And They Drew Their Own Conclusions

There’s something almost nobody in America is talking about right now…but every intelligence service on Earth is.

While Americans argued about whether the “kill everybody” order was real…
While Congress did its usual shoulder shrug…
And while the Pentagon issued its predictable denials…

Other countries weren’t debating.
They were taking notes.

Because when the United States…the country that has spent 80 years claiming to be the moral anchor of the free world…appears to conduct a military hit job in international waters and then shrugs it off?

That sends a shockwave outward.

A psychological…strategic…geopolitical shockwave that lands on foreign desks with a single, devastating message:

“The restraints are gone.”

Not just ours.
Theirs.

Let me spell out what that means…because…this is where the real danger lives…not on the ocean surface…but on the global chessboard.

1. Every Authoritarian Regime Now Has Their Green Light

If America…the country that lectures everyone on rules and international law…can blow up a boat and kill the survivors…

Then what do you think:

• Russia

• China

• Iran

• Turkey

• Saudi Arabia

• Pakistan

…are concluding right now?

Not “America is evil.”
No authoritarian cares about that.

They’re concluding something far more dangerous:

“If the U.S. can do it, why can’t we?”

America just lowered the moral bar to seawater.

And every regime that has been itching to deal with its “undesirables,” “rebels,” “separatists,” or “problem populations” just received the precedent…they’ve been waiting years for.

This is how global norms collapse…
not with fanfare…but with permission.

2. Allies Are Quietly Rewriting Their Defense Plans

Do you know what the French…the Germans…the Japanese…the Australians think when a U.S. Cabinet official is accused of ordering the killing of unarmed survivors?

They think:

“We may not be able to count on America anymore.”

For 80 years, “the rules-based order” rested on a very simple idea:

The U.S. follows the rules.
Or at least pretends to.
And if they don’t…they fix it.

But when the U.S. appears to commit an illegal killing and the system does nothing?

Allies are now gaming out scenarios like:

• “What happens when the U.S. does this to us?”

• “What if a future Trump or Hegseth decides we’re ‘obstacles’?”

• “What if American intelligence drags us into war-crimes exposure?”

• “Should we move closer to self-defense and away from U.S. support?”

And those aren’t hypotheticals.
There are reports one major ally already reduced information sharing.

That is how alliances fray…
silently… gradually… fatally.

3. The Military Itself Just Took a Psychological Hit

This part is subtle but massive.

Military morale doesn’t collapse when soldiers face danger.

It collapses when soldiers lose trust in the chain of command.

Ask any operator…any Marine…any Ranger…any SEAL:

You can face hell itself if you believe the people above you are honorable.

But if you suspect they’ll:

• use you…

• expose you…

• lie to you…

• and leave you legally dangling…

Morale doesn’t dip.
It fractures.

This is the first time…in modern U.S. history…that service members have to ask:

“If I obey an order today… will I be the one sitting in a foreign courtroom 10 years from now?”

That’s not a small psychological shift.

That’s a continental divide.

A military that doubts its leadership is not a military…
it’s a workforce wearing uniforms.

And adversaries can smell that fracture from orbit.

4. The Real Nightmare Scenario Is Not the Strike… It’s the Pattern It Creates

America’s enemies just updated their assessment:

The U.S. is easier to provoke now.

If Trump world is willing to authorize a second strike…to “leave no survivors”…
If Pete Hegseth allegedly gave the verbal nod…
If Congress won’t intervene…

Then the next time a cartel…militia…rogue state…or non-state actor wants to escalate?

All they need to do is:

Put a boat in the water…and dare the U.S. to hit it.

Why?

Because they know:

• Trump will want to “look tough.”

• Hegseth will want to “finish the job.”

• And America…will now be seen as predictable in its recklessness.

Predictable is deadly.
Predictable gets you played.

Enemies can escalate knowing exactly how you’ll react.

This is how wars start…
not with a master plan…
but with a leader who can be baited.

And right now…the whole world knows Trump and Hegseth can be baited.

5. The “Kill Everybody” Order May Be the Moment America Lost Its Global Authority

Not its power.
Its authority.

The difference is everything.

Power is the ability to do something.
Authority…is the legitimacy to do it.

A superpower can lose a war and still recover.

But when a superpower loses its moral authority…its strategic gravity collapses.

Nations hedge.
Adversaries advance.
Allies back away.
Rules evaporate.

And the world shifts into a far more dangerous place.

Not because someone hated America.

But because America told the world…in one horrifying instant…

“We’re not who we used to be.”

THE REAL QUESTION IS THIS:

If America loses its authority abroad…

How long before the people in charge start compensating by tightening their authority at home?

That’s what keeps smart people up at night.

Not just what Pete Hegseth may have said.

But what the rest of the planet now believes:

That America’s brakes are gone.

That the guardrails are off.
That the world’s policeman…has become the world’s wild card.

And wild cards don’t lead.

They ignite.

Final Word: This Is the Moment the Country Looks in the Mirror

One day, years from now…there will be a kid in some other country standing in front of a shattered memorial, asking:

“How did they think they could kill people in the water and call it justice?”

What do you want the honest answer to be?

• “We didn’t know”?

• “We were too busy”?

• “We had compassion fatigue”?

Or do you want to be able to say:

“We saw it. We called it what it was. We refused to let ‘kill everybody’ become U.S. policy without a fight.”

Pete Hegseth’s alleged “kill everybody” order is not just about him.

It’s a test of us.

Of whether we’re going to be a country that shrugs and changes the channel…
Or a country that still believes there are some lines you don’t let anyone cross…not a TV tough guy in a suit…not a president…not anyone.

If you’re still reading…I know which side you’re on.

Now…we act like it.

#HoldFast

Back soon,

-Jack

P.S. If this made your eyes “go-wide,”…wait until you see what I send to paid subscribers. That’s where the real depth lives…the receipts…the strategy…and the dots nobody else connects. Jump in.

Sources & Further Reading

Investigative & News Reporting

Reuters: Multiple reports detailing the September 2, 2025 maritime strike, internal Pentagon communications, survivor accounts, and allegations that a second strike was ordered to “leave no survivors.”

Reuters Special Report: Expanded investigation into Trump’s “war on cartels,” including the number of strikes, death toll, and legal questions surrounding extrajudicial killings in international waters.

Legal & Human Rights Analysis

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): Statements on the legality of targeted killings in international waters and warnings about extrajudicial executions outside recognized armed conflict.

Human Rights Experts Quoted in Reuters: International law specialists assessing whether the alleged “kill everybody” directive could constitute war crimes under international law.

Statements & Responses from U.S. Officials

Pentagon Press Responses: Formal denials of the alleged order and framing of the second strike as a response to “hazards” posed by debris.

Trump Administration Public Statements: Remarks on declaring a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels and justifying strikes as part of a new lethal doctrine.

Background on Pete Hegseth

Confirmation Coverage: Reporting on Hegseth’s rhetoric, prior commentary supporting total-force elimination of enemies, and concerns raised by lawmakers and military analysts.

International & Allied Reactions

Reuters Diplomacy Coverage: Reports that allied intelligence services have reduced cooperation with U.S. forces due to war-crimes exposure concerns.