In a rare move, the Pentagon is denying falsehoods about troops being allowed to use force during the election

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare move, the Pentagon on Thursday firmly pushed back against misinformation circulating on social media that falsely suggests that U.S. troops were authorized to use force against American citizens during the election.

The misinformation was spread online by former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.among other things, suggests that a Defense Department policy revision released in late September was intended to interfere with the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The use of force by federal troops on U.S. soil against U.S. civilians, except in cases of self-defense, is against the law and is set forth in the Posse Comitatus Act.

Kennedy, who ended his presidential candidacy and supported former Republican President Donald Trumptweeted the false narrative to his 4 million followers. It falsely claims that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, enforced a Defense Department directive that allows lethal force against Americans protesting government policies.

The revision in question is Department of Defense Directive 5240.01, which does not authorize troops to use force against U.S. citizens. The timing of the publication had nothing to do with the election, said Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough.

“The Department of Defense use of force policies addressed in DoDD 5240.01 are not new and do not authorize the Department of Defense to use lethal force against U.S. citizens or people in the United States, contrary to rumors and rhetoric circulating in the social media Media circulates,” Gough said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The Pentagon updates its guidelines regularly. The purpose of this update was to align use-of-force language from other guidelines with 5240.01, which applies only to Defense Intelligence personnel.

It describes what type of support these civilian law enforcement personnel can provide in situations where confrontation or use of deadly force is likely.

Defense intelligence personnel can provide information, analysis, training, equipment, and even weapons to civilian authorities. However, they are still prohibited from using violence themselves in such situations.