Only One Reason to Invoke the Fifth

The Fifth Amendment:
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

“in time of war or public danger”

The exception is limited to periods of war or a genuine public emergency (e.g., invasion, insurrection, or other serious threat to public safety).

The phrase “when in actual service in time of war or public danger” in the Fifth Amendment’s Grand Jury Clause applies only to the Militia (today’s National Guard and similar organized state forces when federalized). It does not limit the exception for the regular “land or naval forces” (the permanent armed forces), who are subject to court-martial without a civilian grand jury indictment in both peacetime and wartime.

The Supreme Court has long confirmed this grammatical and historical reading (e.g., Johnson v. Sayre, 1895; Ex parte Mason, 1881).

Meaning of “Public Danger”

“Public danger” is deliberately broader than formal “war.” It refers to a serious threat to public safety or order that falls in the gray area between ordinary peacetime and declared war.

Historical usage in 17th- and 18th-century English and American sources (and the First Congress’s deliberate rejection in 1789 of a proposal to narrow the phrase to “foreign invasion”) supports a wide reading. It covers not only military threats but also various non-military emergencies that the militia was commonly called upon to handle.

A leading scholarly analysis describes it as including threats “as serious as the Spanish Armada and as fleeting as a forest fire.”

Comprehensive Categories and Examples of “Public Danger”

Here is a broad catalog drawn from historical usage, constitutional context, and the parallel power in Article I, Section 8 to call forth the militia “to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions”:

1. Military and security threats

Impending or actual enemy invasions or encroachments.
Insurrections, rebellions, or sedition against the government.
Domestic terrorism or organized secret associations posing a threat to the government (historical parallel noted in Ex parte Milligan discussions of 1864 threats).
Conflicts with Native American tribes on the frontier when treated as public emergencies rather than formal wars.

2. Civil unrest and resistance to law

Armed or violent resistance to federal laws (classic tax revolts).
Large-scale riots or mob violence that ordinary civil authorities cannot control.
Combinations or conspiracies that hinder the execution of federal law or deprive citizens of constitutional rights.

Concrete historical American examples (militia called into actual federal service):

Whiskey Rebellion (1794): Armed farmers in western Pennsylvania violently resisted the federal excise tax on whiskey. President Washington called out approximately 13,000 militiamen from several states to suppress the uprising.
Fries’s Rebellion (also called the House Tax Rebellion, 1799): Pennsylvania German farmers resisted a federal property/house tax. President John Adams called out federal troops and local militia to arrest the insurgents.

Later examples under the Insurrection Act tradition (which implements the constitutional militia-calling power) include the New York City Draft Riots (1863), certain violent labor strikes, and federalizations to enforce civil rights (e.g., Little Rock 1957, University of Mississippi 1962) when domestic violence or obstruction made ordinary law enforcement impracticable.

3. Public health crises

Plagues and epidemics (historical examples include the 1665 London plague and 18th-century smallpox outbreaks, which were explicitly described as “public danger”).

4. Economic crises

Financial panics or severe public credit crises (used in Continental Congress and English sources regarding East India Company mismanagement and creditor clamors).

5. Breakdowns of criminal order

Jailbreaks or mass escapes of dangerous prisoners that create an “eminent and public danger.”

6. Natural and environmental disasters

Floods, fires, breached seawalls, or other calamities requiring the militia to restore order, protect property, or assist civil authorities in the aftermath.

Practical Notes

The militia member must be “in actual service” (actively performing the federal duty) during the period of public danger.
This exception only removes the civilian grand jury requirement for serious crimes tried by court-martial; it does not authorize military trials of ordinary civilians (see Ex parte Milligan).
In modern practice, when the National Guard is federalized for major hurricanes, large-scale civil disturbances, pandemics, or terrorist-related emergencies, the constitutional language provides the historical foundation for applying military justice rules to those service members.

In short, “public danger” was intended as a flexible category covering any serious threat to the safety or order of the community that justified calling the militia into federal service—well beyond formal warfare.

I would think one could make a reasonable argument that what the world faced with the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis would be sufficient for disallowing Fauci in taking the 5th.

The Real Anthony Fauci Lied

The Real Anthony Fauci

Real Fauci Lies

Ordinary American citizens had their constitutional rights violated, were arrested, jailed, lost their jobs, their family members, tazed, beaten, ridiculed, shamed, acquired horrible diseases and adverse effects from his jabs, died from complications from his jabs, lost their civil liberties, destroyed their children’s ability to attend schools & universities, lost their scholarships, lost income, lost friends because of this menace to society…

They lost their endowment for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Do you finally get the picture?