Fact Check: Was Trump's Scotland visit stopped by his lawyers because he's wanted for 'war crimes'?

There is no evidence that Trump was stopped by his lawyers from any international travel

PUBLISHED JAN 15, 2026

Did Trump's lawyers stop him from traveling to Scotland because he's wanted for 'war crimes'? (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has been circulating online that President Donald Trump’s lawyers advised him not to travel to Scotland because he is allegedly wanted internationally for war crimes, with an assertion circulating alongside reports that he had planned a trip to a golf course during the holiday season. Let us fact-check the claim.

Claim: Trump stopped from traveling internationally due to war crimes

The rumor spread as a meme on Facebook, Threads, and other social media outlets (CitaPermataSari/Facebook)

A rumor spread as a meme on Facebook and Threads that Trump was stopped by his lawyers from leaving the country and going to Scotland for a golf tournament because he was wanted internationally for war crimes.

The claim first emerged in a Facebook group called ‘Denmark and the rest of the world against Trump - for world peace!’ posted by a user named Citra Permata Sari.

The post included a photo of Trump along with the caption, “Because he is now WANTED internationally for WAR CRIMES, Trump was just informed by his attorneys he is not permitted to leave the country to attend the PGA event in Scotland.”

Fact Check: False, Trump not charged or convicted

U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) — President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

There is no evidence that Trump was stopped by his lawyers or that he was stopped from traveling internationally as a result.

Trump has not been charged with or convicted of war crimes by an international or foreign court, and as such is not wanted for war crimes by other countries.

The International Court of Justice, the primary court that charges and prosecutes people for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression, has not charged or convicted the president for war crimes.

This was evidenced by a Reuters report from December, 2025, which quoted an anonymous Trump administration official stating that Trump had threatened to impose sanctions on the ICC unless it amended its core statute, which would otherwise leave Trump and his officials vulnerable to future investigation by the court.

ICC authority and the US opposition

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers an order on South Africa's genocide case against Israel on January 26, 2024 in The Hague, Netherlands. On January 11 and January 12 at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial body of the United Nations, in The Hague, South Africa seized the ICJ, to ask it to rule on possible acts of — The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an order on South Africa's genocide case against Israel on January 26, 2024, in The Hague, Netherlands (Michel Porro/Getty Images)

The ICC was established in 2002 by the Rome Statute and gave it the power to prosecute heads of state. The US is not a party to the statute, and therefore, the ICC has limited jurisdiction to prosecute US citizens for crimes.

The Trump administration was pressuring the ICC to drop its investigations of Israeli leaders' actions in Gaza and close earlier investigations of US troops' actions in Afghanistan, according to a report by Reuters.

Last year, the US placed sanctions on nine ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges, as a result. However, the sanction does not apply to the court as a whole.