Open Letter to General Daniel L. Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Follow-Up to My July 4th and August 25th Open Letters to General Dan Caine

General Dan Caine
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Pentagon
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1400

Open Letter to General Dan Caine

General Caine,

This is my third letter to you — follow-ups after July 4 and August 25 — and the situation has now crossed into unmistakable authoritarianism. What follows is not conjecture — it is a record of violations, evidence of lawlessness, and your dereliction of duty.

You have allowed the federal government to treat American cities as war zones. In Portland, Oregon, federalized National Guard forces were sent in to “restore order” over the objections of local officials. In Washington, D.C., control of the Metropolitan Police Department was transferred to federal authority; within two weeks more than 550 arrests were made.

And now, Chicago last night. Blackhawk helicopters with snipers rappelled into an apartment building, arresting groups of people in the dead of night — families loaded into U-Haul trucks, rolling cages, including children in zip ties. Flash bangs. Guns pointed at their faces. People woken from sleep. This is not our America.

These actions are not only immoral — they are illegal. The Posse Comitatus Act explicitly prohibits the use of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement purposes. By deploying military aircraft, equipment and personnel against civilians, you have crossed that line. Each such operation is a violation of federal law — and of your sworn duty to stop it.

The same pattern is unfolding in California, where elements of the National Guard and active-duty military have been deployed under federal direction, reportedly to assist in so-called “immigration sweeps” and “urban security operations.” These actions are outside the scope of lawful authority. Under the Posse Comitatus Act and long-standing Department of Defense policy, active military forces are prohibited from engaging in domestic policing. Yet here they are — patrolling American neighborhoods, detaining civilians, and operating alongside federal agents. This is a fundamental breach of the separation between civilian authority and military force.

You were also present for the Quantico meeting before 800 generals, where Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Pete Hegseth all delivered hateful, inflammatory speeches. Trump was completely unhinged and visibly mentally impaired — a man exhibiting cognitive decline combined with malignant narcissism, standing before a captive military audience.That meeting alone should have been a wake-up call. Instead, you have stayed silent.

And today brought something even darker: an unlawful order from the White House to arrest and imprison for one year anyone who burns the American flag. This directive violates the First Amendment, criminalizes dissent, and turns symbolic protest into a punishable offense. It is the kind of decree we once condemned in authoritarian regimes — not issued within our own.

At the President’s order, Kristi Noem has publicly threatened to deploy law enforcement and ICE at the Super Bowl, saying in an interview, “There will be [ICE present}, because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe … so yeah, we’ll be all over that place … We’re going to enforce the law. So I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country.”

It does not matter that people are law-abiding citizens — what we are seeing now are arrests without warrants, without Miranda rights, and without due process. People are being detained for being Black or Brown, for looking different, for existing in the wrong place at the wrong time. After physical, emotional and financial trauma has already been inflicted, only then are questions asked. To make matters worse, this is how our tax dollars are being wasted.

Meanwhile, Congress has been repeatedly recessed and votes cancelled to block oversight. The Speaker of the House has refused to swear in a duly elected representative whose vote could force accountability. The government shutdown is being used not to protect the public but to shield those in power from scrutiny and to keep the Epstein files buried and to further the overthrow of our United States government. You may not be able to release those files yourself — but you have the authority to refuse unlawful orders, to tell the military to stand down, and to protect civilians from political misuse of federal force.

At the center of this is Donald Trump, whose malignant narcissism combined with visible cognitive decline has become a clear and present danger. An unfit commander-in-chief issuing unlawful orders is not a shield for you; it is a test of your oath.

General Caine, you are no longer a bystander. You are personally responsible for allowing these abuses to proceed. By failing to act, you are participating in an ongoing RICO-style cover-up. This is dereliction of duty.

Your oath obligates you to defend the Constitution, not an individual. You must refuse unlawful orders, protect the rights of American citizens, and stop the militarization of our cities. History will record whether you stood with the people you swore to protect or whether you enabled their oppression.

This is a lawful demand for accountability — and a reminder that your actions, or your inaction, will define your legacy.

Respectfully,
Joyce Strong for We the People

Join my team

Thank you for reading and standing with me. This work is independent, unbought and sustained by readers like you. If you value it, consider becoming a paid subscriber — your support keeps the words flowing strong. And if you choose to become a founding member, I’ll write you a song — a personal thank-you for helping keep this work alive.

— Joyce