American Oversight Sues for Hegseth “Kill Everybody” Boat-Strike Records

Thursday, American Oversight filed suit against the U.S. Departments of Defense and Justice for unlawfully withholding records about the Trump administration’s deadly Venezuelan boat strikes — operations that legal and military experts have warned may amount to war crimes after survivors of an initial strike were reportedly killed in a second attack on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s widely reported orders to “kill everybody.”

The suit follows the release of a Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that found Hegseth’s sharing of classified Yemen strike details over Signal this spring — in group chats that also included his spouse, brother, and a reporter — violated department regulations and put troops in danger.

“When the defense secretary stands accused of ordering military strikes that experts warn may amount to war crimes — and is simultaneously found to have mishandled classified military intelligence in ways that endangered the lives of our servicemembers  — the American people deserve straight answers,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “Secretary Hegseth’s actions reveal a reckless pattern of profound leadership failure and brazen contempt for the rule of law, jeopardizing our national security.”

Our lawsuit concerns four unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking Defense and Justice Department records related to the September 2 and September 15 U.S. strikes on boats the administration claimed — without evidence — were associated with drug trafficking. Reporting indicates Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” aboard the first vessel; a second strike reportedly killed survivors who were clinging to debris, conduct experts have warned may amount to a war crime. The FOIA requests sought the legal justifications for the operations, internal discussions about public messaging, and any dissent raised within the agencies, but neither department produced a single responsive record.

Recent public statements from Hegseth have sought to cast responsibility for the second strike onto Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, despite widespread concern that the defense secretary’s “kill everybody” order shaped the conditions that led to the survivors’ deaths. Hegseth’s effort to deflect accountability only underscores the urgent need for transparency into how these decisions were made and who was responsible for authorizing actions that experts warn may amount to war crimes.

The DOD OIG report released today found Hegseth’s sharing of classified Yemen strike details over Signal this spring violated department regulations and put troops in danger. The report also noted Hegseth tried to avoid accountability by refusing to be interviewed by the OIG during its investigation. At the same time, Hegseth took actions reportedly aimed at undermining DOD whistleblowers. In a speech to military leaders, Hegseth claimed the IG process has been “weaponized, putting complainers, poor performers, and ideologues in the driver’s seat.” Alarmingly, Hegseth issued a memo directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments to work with the DOD OIG to modify processes, including timelines for investigations and vetting whistleblower complaints.

We were the first organization to file a lawsuit in the Signalgate matter after The Atlanticrevealed that Hegseth and other senior administration officials had used Signal to discuss sensitive military operations. Since then, our litigation has prompted a court order to preserve records, spurred the expansion of the inspector general investigation, and exposed a broader pattern of recordkeeping violations across multiple agencies.