Fact check: Hillary Clinton was not arrested by Navy SEALs acting on Trump’s order

The claim: U.S. Navy SEALs acting under the direction of former President Donald Trump arrested former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is the target of a conspiracy theory that claims she was arrested in New York by Navy SEALs acting on former President Donald Trump’s orders.

The baseless claim by the website Real Raw News cites “a source in Trump’s orbit” in  claiming Trump turned over incriminating evidence about Clinton that led to her arrest “under cover of darkness” by an eight-person team.

Clinton was taken to an undisclosed location before she is to be moved to Guantanamo Bay to face a military tribunal, the website wrote in a post that was shared across social media, including on Facebook.

There is no evidence that Clinton was arrested, and Trump has no control over or role in the U.S. military as a former president.

Real Raw News calls itself apolitical – “we have no dog in the fight, as they say” – but it peddles pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the military’s pursuit of former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump writing an indictment of former U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Real Raw News did not respond to a request for comment, but its post derides fact checks of its work, saying it “stands by the story as written, and will present an update shortly.”

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No evidence Clinton was arrested

Real Raw News claims that Clinton was arrested on the night of March 2 as the first domino to fall in Trump and the military’s takedown of a “Deep State cabal” that is central to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

But it provides no evidence of Clinton’s arrest, citing only an anonymous source in “Trump’s orbit.” No credible mainstream media organization has reported that Clinton was arrested.

Clinton also was scheduled to appear on March 8 at multiple virtual events for International Women’s Day. That afternoon, she participated in a live chat with The Washington Post. That evening, she was to participate in a virtual fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to benefit their political action committees.

Clinton’s Twitter account also was active on March 8, promoting those events and sharing a photo of Clinton on International Women’s Day in 1995.

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Trump doesn’t control the military, Biden does

The conspiracy theory espoused by Real Raw News also falsely suggests that Trump holds power with the U.S. military. Previous fact-checks have debunked conspiracies that the former president was pulling strings within the military.

The U.S. Constitution dictates that the president is commander in chief of the military, with scholars agreeing that the clause ensures civilian control over the military be placed in the hands of a single person.

Congress certified President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, and Biden was sworn in during a public inauguration on Jan. 20. USA TODAY has debunked conspiracy theories that Biden’s inauguration was faked.

That means Biden, not Trump, controls the military.

Our ruling: False

The claim that U.S. Navy SEALs acting under former President Donald Trump’s direction arrested Hillary Clinton in New York is FALSE. Trump has no authority within the military because he lost the 2020 election. President Joe Biden, not Trump, took office on Jan. 20 and is now commander in chief of the U.S. military. There is also no evidence that Clinton was arrested, and she is set to appear March 8 at a virtual fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi benefitting their political action committees.

Our fact-check sources:

• USA TODAY, July 22, 2020, Donald Trump refuses to condemn QAnon: Here’s what to know about the far-right conspiracy theory
• Twitter, March 8, The Washington Post Post Live
• Hillary Clinton, Feb. 17, Facebook promotion of International Women’s Day virtual fundraiser 
• Yahoo News, Feb. 26, Amanda Gorman, Chrissy Teigen To Headline International Women’s Day Event For Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi PACs
• Hillary Clinton, March 8, tweet about International Women’s Day in 1995
• USA TODAY, Feb. 4, Fact check: Conspiracy theory about military control of Washington is false
• National Constituion Center, accessed March 8, Commander in Chief Clause
• C-SPAN, Jan. 6, Counting of Electoral College Votes, Part 3
• C-SPAN, Jan. 20, Joe Biden Sworn In As 46th President of the United States
• USA TODAY, Jan. 28, Fact check: No basis for claims that President Joe Biden’s inauguration was faked

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