FACT CHECK: No, Judge Juan Merchan Was Not Executed At Guantanamo Bay

A post shared on Facebook claims New York Judge Juan Merchan was purportedly executed by the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps on Dec. 23, 2024.

Verdict: False

The claim is false and originally stems from a Dec. 27 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A spokesperson for Navy JAG denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

Merchan recently denied President-elect Donald Trump’s motion to throw out his felony conviction after Trump argued a Supreme Court case on presidential immunity nullified his criminal case in New York, according to The New York Times. The Supreme Court ruled presidents only have immunity in relation to their official actions, the outlet reported.

The Facebook post claims Merchan was purportedly executed by Navy JAG on Dec. 23, 2024.

“THE JUDGE THAT THE DEMOCRATES [sic] USED TO TRY & SEND TRUMP TO JAIL, GUESS WHAT? Yep, he is gone, taken out by the military in a military tribunal decision,” the post, which does not provide a source to support its claim, reads in part.

The claim is false and originally stems from a Dec. 27 article published on the satire site “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice [of] legal counsel,” the disclaimer reads.

According to the Dec. 27 article, Merchan was purportedly executed on Dec. 23 at Guantanamo Bay without having a military tribunal. The same article claims Merchan was primarily charged with treason after he allegedly “[told] a 12-member jury that it did not have to reach a unanimous verdict to find [President-Elect Donald] Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up ‘hush money’ payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.”

The article is a follow-up piece to a Sept. 7 article published by the site that claimed Navy JAG had purportedly arrested Merchan. Check Your Fact previously debunked the claim. (RELATED: Facebook Post Falsely Claims Alejandro Mayorkas Was Executed At Guantanamo Bay)

Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the claim about Merchan’s purported execution referenced on Navy JAG’s website or its verified social media accounts. Check Your Fact also did not find any credible news reports to support the claim.

Furthermore, Patricia Babb, a spokesperson for Navy JAG, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.

“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.