UCLA Law Professor Calls for Military Coup Against Trump

A UCLA law professor, Peter Arenella, made a shocking statement on social media Saturday evening, openly calling for the U.S. military to violently remove President Donald Trump from office.

The post, still live as of 8:30 PM Eastern Time, has drawn attention for its extreme rhetoric against the democratically elected president.

Arenella, who teaches multiple law courses at UCLA School of Law, wrote:

“At this point, my only hope for the US to avoid becoming an ally to Russia is a violent resistance by our military. Tragic to say that because the military are trained to avoid any politically motivated intervention.”

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He went on to claim that Trump anticipated such resistance and took preemptive measures:

“Firing all the Joint Chief of Staff military leaders and replacing them with military acolytes of Trump anticipated that possibility and acted swiftly to minimize that type of intervention. Ultimately, we will get what we deserve by giving Trump a second chance to destroy our democracy.”

replacing them with military acolytes of Trump anticipated that possibility and acted swiftly to minimize that type of intervention. Ultimately, we will get what we deserve by giving Trump a second chance to destroy our democracy.

— Professor Peter Arenella (@arenella1) March 8, 2025

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Arenella is a recipient of the School of Law’s Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching and has been a professor at UCLA for years, according to his university biography.

He is recognized as a criminal law and procedure scholar and has written extensively on legal and moral responsibility.

His biography states:

“He is a nationally recognized criminal law and procedure scholar, writing about the relationship between criminal and moral responsibility by exploring competing conceptions of criminal culpability and moral agency at work in immaturity and mental disability defenses (e.g., insanity, diminished capacity, mental retardation). His moral agency work in philosophical and legal journals has generated considerable commentary and is frequently cited in ongoing debates about the justifications for criminal punishment. He has also written extensively on the privilege against self-incrimination and grand jury practices.”

Arenella gained national recognition while working as a legal analyst for ABC News during the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995.

Over the years, he has provided legal analysis for ABC News, Los Angeles KNX radio, and KTLA Channel 5.

He also lectures annually on Supreme Court decisions to federal and state appellate judges and frequently speaks at legal conferences nationwide.

This is not the first time Arenella has made extreme statements about President Trump. Earlier this year, on Inauguration Day, he posted on X:

“If history of the US Presidency doesn’t end with a fascist, racist and authoritarian President putting the last nail in the coffin of our democracy, Biden will be remembered for being one of our best leaders.”

He also praised Dr. Anthony Fauci and the January 6th Committee members, suggesting President Joe Biden had the foresight to pardon them preemptively:

“His pre-emptive pardons of American heroes like Fauci and the Jan 6th committee members reflects his courage and wisdom because he knows Trump will weaponize the DOJ to go after his adversaries.”

committee members reflects his courage and wisdom because he knows Trump will weaponize the DOJ to go after his adversaries.

— Professor Peter Arenella (@arenella1) January 20, 2025

In another post, Arenella encouraged high school and college students to organize a large-scale protest against Trump’s inauguration:

“I have been begging HS and College kids to plan a massive protest for the past 2 yrs: what better time and place to do it than Washington, DC on our national day of shame when Trump is sworn in to be President. If you agree, repost it to any young followers you have.”

I have been begging HS and College kids to plan a massive protest for the past 2 yrs: what better time and place to do it than Washington, DC on our national day of shame when Trump is sworn in to be President. If you agree, repost it to any young followers you have.

— Professor Peter Arenella (@arenella1) January 14, 2025

As of now, neither UCLA nor Arenella has commented publicly on his social media statements. It remains unclear whether the university will take any action regarding his remarks.

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