A recent column by writer John L. Perry for the political magazine "Newsmax" either warns of the possibility of a military coup in the United States -- or, according to critics, advocates for one.

Perry wrote:

"There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” ...

Will the day come when patriotic general and flag officers sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a “family intervention,” with some form of limited, shared responsibility?

Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making."



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The article -- "Obama Risks a Domestic Military ‘Intervention’" -- was posted Wednesday and has since been removed from the magazine's website www.newsmax.com. The Newsmax website no longer links to the article and its deletion was made without comment on the Newsmax site.

A copy of the original article, however, has been preserved by MediaMatters for America, along with extensive coverage of the controversy.

Media Matters for America describes itself as a "Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." As such, it focuses on comments, columns and discussion disseminated from conservative websites, blogs and news sources.

Media Matters www.mediamatters.org requested, and received, a response from Newsmax regarding the article and its deletion from the website one day later.

According to Media Matters, a Newsmax spokesperson issued the following statement:

"In a blog posting to Newsmax John Perry wrote about a coup scenario involving the U.S. military. He clearly stated that he was not advocating such a scenario but simply describing one.

After several reader complaints, Newsmax wanted to insure that this article was not misinterpreted. It was removed after a short period after being posted.

Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.

Mr. Perry served as a political appointee in the Carter administration in HUD and FEMA. He has no official relationship with Newsmax other than as an unpaid blogger."

In its analysis, Media Matters points out that the author, John L. Perry, has been a regular columnist for Newsmax since 1999. Calling him an "unpaid blogger" is disingenuous, says Media Matters.

The issue has been picked up by numerous other political websites, taking on a life of its own with commentary and rebuttals.