Marco Rubio Announces Aggressive Action Against ‘Rogue’ International Criminal Court Over ‘Threats’ to Americans

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that the United States has taken action against the International Criminal Court.

“For decades now, Republicans and Democrats alike rejected the idea that the International Criminal Court had the power to prosecute American citizens, to prosecute military service members or political leaders. America never joined the court. We don’t need that court. And we don’t want it,” Rubio said in a video posted on X.

“But now, globalist ‘experts’ that are an ocean away, they don’t care what American citizens think. They want the International Criminal Court to do more, including the prosecution of American citizens and Servicemembers defending their country,” he said.

“They want to prosecute Border Patrol agents that are protecting our nation’s borders, and they want to prosecute our elected leaders that are ensuring our national security. They want more power, and they want it at the expense of our sovereignty as a nation,” Rubio continued.

“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans. And that’s why today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court,” he said.

Today, the Trump Administration is sanctioning the ICC.

This action should encourage our Allies within the Court to work for solutions to end this threat to U.S. sovereignty forever. https://t.co/D86dCqLUaZ

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) October 9, 2026

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us,” he said.

“Our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.”

Rubio noted that despite bipartisan disgust with the court, “only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all.”

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio added.

“And we expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American service members for their defense, to rein in this rogue court,” Rubio said. “If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer.”

In a statement posted on the State Department website, Rubio said that the ICC has refused American requests to change its ways.

“We have been clear for over a year as to the basic gestures of good faith we have expected from the court. We exercised discretion and deferred this designation out of respect for our relationships and in hopes that the ICC would change course or would otherwise be restrained,” he said.

“Despite their inaction, we hold out hope for a diplomatic solution. We have structured this action to provide an opportunity for States Parties to negotiate and present a solution to address our concerns. If these efforts do not bear fruit, we will continue to adjust accordingly,” the statement added.

In an executive order that began the process of sanctioning the court, President Donald Trump said it was involved “in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

“The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel,” the order said.

“Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war,” the order said, noting that the ICC’s  “malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government and our allies, including Israel.”

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