A viral Facebook video has circulated claiming that U.S. Armed Forces pilots refused to fly aircraft carrying weapons shipments to Israel and were subsequently handcuffed and arrested at the Pentagon. The post, shared under the caption “United States of Kazakhstan,. This claim quickly spread due to heightened debates over U.S. military support for Israel. However, closer examination shows that this narrative is false.
Social Media Post
A widely shared video shows a person being detained by an officer, accompanied by the caption “United States of Kazakhstan. Honourable Men and Women In The USA Armed Forces Refuse To Fly Aircrafts Laden With Arms Shipment To Israel. Subsequently, They were Called Into The Pentagon And Forcefully Arrested And Handcuffed. Watch The Clip Before it gets removed from the internet.” The video has garnered over ten thousand views so far.
Fact Check
The video does not depict active-duty U.S. military pilots or personnel being arrested for refusing to deliver weapons to Israel. In reality, it shows two U.S. Army veterans, Anthony Aguilar and Josephine Guilbeau, disrupting a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to denounce Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, the pair were detained after calling out senators for complicity in what they described as genocide in Gaza. They were arrested for disrupting proceedings and later released.
These arrests occurred because they protested during a government hearing, not because they refused military orders. There are no credible reports of U.S. service members being arrested for refusing to transport weapons to Israel. The claim about the “United States of Kazakhstan” is completely fabricated and has no factual basis.
It is noteworthy that decisions about U.S. weapons shipments to Israel are made at the political level, not by individual military personnel. In May 2024, the Pentagon did temporarily pause one weapons shipment to Israel due to concerns about operations in Rafah. As Al Jazeera reported, this was a policy decision made by government officials, not because military members refused orders. The Associated Press has confirmed that U.S. military aid to Israel continues under executive and congressional oversight, with no instances of service members refusing to comply with legal orders. The phrase “United States of Kazakhstan” in the viral post lacks factual basis. When weapons shipments have been paused or delayed, as occurred in May 2024, these decisions were made by Pentagon leadership based on policy considerations regarding Israeli operations in Rafah. According to verified reporting, U.S. military aid to Israel operates under political and congressional oversight, with no documented cases of military personnel refusing to carry out authorized missions.
Conclusion
The claim that U.S. Armed Forces pilots were arrested for refusing to deliver weapons to Israel is false. The video actually shows veterans protesting at a Senate hearing, not military personnel being arrested for disobeying orders. There is no evidence of military members refusing to transport weapons to Israel.
Title: False claim that U.S. military pilots were arrested for refusing to transport weapons to Israel
Fact Check By: Cielito WangResult: False
