Donald Mitchell Brown, Jr. (born June 3, 1960) is an American author, attorney, and former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

JAG Officer. He has published fifteen books on the United States military, including eleven military-genre novels, the best known of which is ''

Treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

'' (2005) in which radical Islamic clerics infiltrate the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. He has published four works of military nonfiction, including his national bestseller, '' The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II'' (2017). Brown may be best known for his work as legal counsel to Army Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who had been convicted of murder by a military court-martial at Fort Bragg when his platoon became involved in a firefight in Afghanistan in 2011, and his authorship of the 2019 book '' Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance''. On November 15, 2019, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

pardoned Lorance, and the book is considered to be a factor in leading to that pardon. Between the release of ''Travesty of Justice'' on March 31, 2019, and Lorance's pardon on November 15, 2019, Brown made numerous national television appearances and penned a number of national Op-eds urging President Trump to free and exonerate Lieutenant Lorance. On the November 27, 2019, Brown and Lorance appeared on

Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative television political Talk show, talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that ai ...

, the nightly national broadcast on the

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

Channel to discuss the presidential pardon and release. Brown is a candidate for the 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina. He previously ran in the Republican primary for

North Carolina's 8th congressional district North Carolina's 8th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district that comprises a large portion of the southern Piedmont (United States), Piedmont area of North Carolina The district includes ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

but lost to Mark Harris.

Early life and education

Brown was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Washington County, North Carolina Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,003. Its county seat is Plymouth. The county was formed in 1799 from the western third of Tyrrell County. It was named fo ...

, on June 3, 1960. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and a Juris Doctor degree from

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Christian university in Buies Creek, North Carolina, United States. Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek is home to its College of Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Divinity School, Scho ...

Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (also known as Campbell Law School or Campbell University School of Law) is a private law school in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1976, the law school is one of six graduate programs o ...

Legal career

Brown spent five years as a military attorney in the

United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG", is the legal arm of the United States Navy. Today, the JAG Corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 1,000 commissioned officers serving as judge advocate ...

. He earned a nonresident certificate in International Law from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

, and published a legal position paper in the ''Navy's Law Review'' on how to defend against

temporary injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable remed ...

s filed against the military. He remained on inactive status with the Navy until 1999, when he separated from the service as a lieutenant commander. Brown also worked as a special assistant to the

United States Attorney for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against th ...

. He is currently licensed to practice in North and South Carolina, and is the owner of Brown & Associates, PLLC, a law firm located in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, where he practices law in the areas of civil litigation, military law, criminal defense, family law, and estate planning. In 2018, Brown joined the legal team as one of four military JAG officers representing Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, and in 2019 published the book '' Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance''. Lorance had been convicted for second-degree murder in 2013 by a military

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

, when American paratroopers in his platoon on his command fired on three men on a motorcycle in Afghanistan who were speeding towards their position. In ''Travesty of Justice'', Brown laid out the defense contentions, including the claim that Army prosecutors withheld

biometrics Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used t ...

evidence proving that the motorcycle riders were enemy

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

bombmakers. In a series of national television appearances and Op-eds for

in the summer of 2019, Brown pressed Lorance's case further, urging President

to provide presidential relief for Lorance, and accused the military justice system of corruption for the prosecutions of Lorance, Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, and Army Green Beret Matt Golsteyn.

Authorship

Don Brown at the Reagan Presidential Library

Brown is the author of Zondervan Publishing's Navy Justice series with the fiction works ''

'' (2005), ''

Hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

'' (2005), '' Defiance'' (2006), '' Black Sea Affair'' (2008), and '' Malacca Conspiracy'' (2010), in which terrorists launch attacks against oil tankers in the Malacca Straights. In his Pacific Rim series, Brown wrote his sixth novel '' Thunder in the Morning Calm'' (2011) on the issue of whether American servicemen who were listed as MIAs may still be alive in North Korea since the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Brown stated in interviews that he wrote it to bring attention to the issue. His seventh novel ''Fire of the Raging Dragon'', a geopolitical action-thriller set in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

, was released through HarperCollins publishers in November 2012. Brown wrote '' Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six'' (2015) on the August 2011 downing of a United States Army

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

helicopter in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

which killed the air crew along with seven Afghan military personnel and 17 members of Navy SEAL Team Six. Brown retells the wartime action, explains the life stories of the service members killed that day, and examines the official military explanation of the incident contained in the infamous Colt Report, arguing that series of events were gross incompetence or a massive cover-up. In March 2017, Brown released his nonfiction work '' The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II''. The book features the true story of Captain Jerry Yellin, U.S. Army Air Force, who flew the final combat mission of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

over Japan on August 15, 1945, from

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

, and focuses on the last six months of the air war against Japan, flown by American fighter pilots who were stationed on Iwo Jima, who arrived on the island in March 1945, and remained there until the war's end. In August 2017, Brown and Yellin appeared together to kick off the book's release at the

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the presidential library and burial site of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989), and his wife Nancy Reagan. Located in Simi Valley, California, the library is administere ...

and the

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States (1969–1974), and his wife Pat Nixon. Located in Yorba Linda, California, on land ...

Yorba Linda, California Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 United States ...

to discuss the book and Yellin's experiences in the war. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' announced that the book had been named to it national

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

's list for hardcover

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

for the week ending August 7, 2017. The popular magazine and website

Townhall Townhall is an American conservative website, print magazine and radio news service. Katie Pavlich is Editor. Previously published by The Heritage Foundation, it is now owned and operated by Salem Communications. The website features more than ...

named Last Fighter Pilot as one of "10 World War II Books Every American Should Read."

Published works

Books

Navy Justice Series *''

'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2005) *''

'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2006) *'' Defiance'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2007) *'' Black Sea Affair'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2007) *'' Malacca Conspiracy'' (Zondervan Publishing 2010) *''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' (Mountainview Books, LLC, 2014) Pacific Rim Series *'' Thunder in the Morning Calm'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2011) *''Fire of the Raging Dragon'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2012) *'' Storming the Black Ice'' (Harper Collins Publishing, 2014) Navy JAG Series *'' Detained'' (Harper Collins Publishing, 2015) *''Code 13'' (Zondervan Publishing, 2016) Nonfiction *'' Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six'' (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, through Lyons Press - 2015) *'' The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II'' (Salem Media Group, through Regnery Publishing - 2017) *'' Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance'' (WildBlue Press - 2019) *'' Old Breed General: How Marine Corps General William H. Rupertus Broke the Back of the Japanese in World War II from Guadalcanal to Peleliu Hardcover'' with Amy Rupertus Peacock (Stackpole Books (Rowman & Littlefield) - 2022)

Law review articles

*Temporary Injunctions Aimed at the Military: A Rapid Response Plan for Government Lawyers, by Lieutenant Donald M. Brown, Jr. JAGC, USNR, 40 Naval L. Rev. 157 (1992)

Fox News op-eds

*Don Brown, "President Trump, please free Army Lt. Clint Lorance, unjustly convicted of murder in Afghanistan", Fox News, May 7, 2019 *Don Brown, "It's time for Trump to clean out corruption in the military justice system", Fox News, June 14, 2019 *Don Brown, "Prosecuting American warriors for killing the enemy undermines 'America first, Fox News, July 1, 2019 *Don Brown, "Not guilty verdict for Navy SEAL Gallagher is welcome news – He shouldn't have been prosecuted", Fox News, July 3, 2019 *Don Brown, "Eddie Gallagher is cleared, but two other officers face bogus politically driven murder charges", Fox News, July 8, 2019 *Don Brown, "Policy banning military from carrying guns on US bases should end", Fox News, July 27, 2019 *Don Brown, "Trump's pardon of Army Lt. Clint Lorance on wrongful war crime conviction serves justice", Fox News, November 16, 2019 *Don Brown, "Deadly 'green on blue' attacks by Islamic allied nation troops against Americans must end", Fox News, February 15, 2020

References

External links

*
Don Brown's Law Firm, Brown & Associates, PLLC
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Don 1960 births Living people United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps American thriller writers American military writers 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American novelists University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Campbell University alumni People from Plymouth, North Carolina Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina Christian novelists North Carolina lawyers American male novelists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from North Carolina 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections