(José Niño, Headline USA) A US Navy lawyer has been exposed for allegedly threatening federal agents in a now-deleted social media outburst.
Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer Benjamin France, known online as “Benny,” has ignited controversy after allegedly threatening on social media to “hunt down every J6 and ICE agent.”
Twitter user Sam Shoemate, the COO of American First advocacy organization Our Country Our Choice, noted that France “proudly shared his taking of the oath to join the US Navy JAG Corps last year on his LinkedIn account.”
Benny proudly shared his taking of the oath to join the US Navy JAG Corps last year on his LinkedIn account. 2/6 pic.twitter.com/s82oLMZKaW
— Shoe (@samosaur) June 10, 2025
According to Shoemate’s widely circulated Twitter thread, “Benny made a comment threatening to ‘hunt down every J6 and ICE agent’ three days ago on X,” referencing both participants in the January 6 storming of the Capitol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The thread continued: “Why should we care that Benny is threatening federal agents? Because Benny is an active duty Navy JAG Officer.”
The situation escalated when France was identified and confronted by other users, leading him to delete his account in an apparent attempt to distance himself from the controversy. As Shoemate noted, “Yesterday, Benny got into a scuffle with the wrong one, and he quickly found out he wasn’t as anonymous as he thought. As soon as he was identified and called out in the comments, he nuked his account.” Despite his efforts, screenshots of his posts were widely shared, ensuring the incident remained in the public eye.
France’s threatening remarks were not limited to federal agents. The Twitter thread also revealed that France directed comments at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, adding another layer of concern given his position as a military officer. “Normally I wouldn’t care about comments like this, but since Benny decided to threaten federal agents, I’ll post his comments directed at @SecDef as an added bonus,” Shoemate wrote.
Normally I wouldn't care about comments like this, but since Benny decided to threaten federal agents, I'll post his comments directed at @SecDef as an added bonus. 5/6 pic.twitter.com/8UGUOQ5qKy
— Shoe (@samosaur) June 10, 2025
The thread concluded by revealing that France’s chain of command had been notified of the incident, stating: “Benny’s chain of command has been notified. However, in case you’d like to follow up, this should help. This kind of threatening behavior towards agents, who are already under fire, simply cannot be allowed, especially from an officer whose job is to provide legal advice to his command and holds sway over policy that affects potentially thousands of sailors.”
Benny's chain of command has been notified. However, in case you'd like to follow up, this should help.
This kind of threatening behavior towards agents, who are already under fire, simply cannot be allowed, especially from an officer whose job is to provide legal advice to his… pic.twitter.com/lMk37iCEba
— Shoe (@samosaur) June 10, 2025
The case has drawn attention not only because of the nature of the threats but also due to France’s role as a JAG officer, a position that demands the highest standards of integrity and impartiality. The JAG Corps is tasked with providing independent, neutral, and fact-based legal advice to military commanders, and its members are expected to serve as exemplars of military discipline.
A request for comment was sent to the Navy JAG Corps Communication Director regarding this incident. No response had been received as of this publication. France, who’s also deleted his LinkedIn account, could not be reached for comment.
The incident comes amid broader concerns about the politicization and independence of the JAG Corps, following the recent firings of top uniformed lawyers by Secretary Pete Hegseth as part of an effort to bring more of a “warfighter” ethos to the U.S. military.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
