Why The Jedi Were Hated After Order 66 (Legends)

The fall of the Jedi wasn’t just about soldiers turning their blasters on them. The hate that spread across the galaxy had been building for a long time, and by the time Order 66 hit, people were ready to believe the worst. So, how did the Order go from respected peacekeepers to villains in the eyes of billions?

Lack of Understanding Between People and the Jedi

The Jedi never really explained themselves to regular people. Most citizens couldn’t tell the difference between a Jedi and a Sith. To them, both groups were strange warriors with powers that didn’t make sense. Sith history was banned in many places, so almost nobody had the full picture. That’s why Darth Maul got called a Jedi when he pulled out his red lightsaber, or why Darth Plagueis was accused of shaming the Jedi after killing smugglers. When all the average person saw was destruction, the details didn’t matter.

Instead of seeing a battle between light and dark, people saw outsiders with lightsabers leaving ruined cities and dead neighbors behind.

And because the Republic didn’t keep a full military, the Senate leaned on the Jedi to enforce its decisions. That made them the visible face of policies, even when those policies were unfair. When the Trade Federation and the Huk pushed the Senate to send Jedi against the Kaleesh, the locals saw Jedi ships, Jedi blades, and Jedi victories that destroyed their independence. They didn’t see senators in a distant chamber.

This happened again and again. The Jedi entered conflicts to “mediate,” but they usually met with nobles or elites, not the farmers and workers living with the results. This gave the impression that the Order protected the upper class instead of the people on the ground.

Rumors And Recruitment

On many worlds, whispers spread faster than facts. Stories painted the Jedi as baby snatchers or killers with glowing swords. The Order’s practice of taking Force-sensitive infants didn’t look peaceful from the outside, even if parents agreed. The anger grew big enough that mercenaries took jobs rescuing children from the Jedi. Groups such as the People’s Inquest even formed to protest and monitor the Order’s influence. Every rumor made the Jedi seem more like a cult than protectors.

The Sith didn’t just fight battles; they played the long game. They fueled conflicts across the galaxy to weaken the Jedi. Every new crisis demanded Jedi intervention, but the Order rarely solved the deeper problems. They stopped the fighting, left, and watched the same troubles flare up again later. To the public, this looked like failure. People didn’t care about temporary truces when the core issues never went away.

Also, Count Dooku leaving the Order and leading the Separatists made distrust grow faster than ever. For the first time, a Jedi openly turned on the Republic. Other Jedi joined him, showing the galaxy that betrayal wasn’t just a rumor. Citizens started asking what separated loyal Jedi from traitors, and the faith they had in the Order broke apart.

War That Hurt Everyone

The Clone Wars didn’t just kill soldiers on battlefields. Families on peaceful planets lost power, clean water, and security because the Republic poured resources into war. Billions of credits funded the clone army, and people traced that decision back to the Jedi, who had unveiled and commanded it.

Protests happened not at the Senate but in front of the Jedi Temple. Leaders like Palpatine gave careful speeches, dismissing accusations but repeating them often enough that suspicion stuck. People didn’t look at the Republic as the cause of their pain; they blamed the Jedi who seemed to be leading the war effort.

The Coup Narrative And Order 66

When Mace Windu and three Jedi Masters stormed Palpatine’s office after uncovering his true nature, they announced, “In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor.” Palpatine’s reply cut sharp: “I am the Senate… It’s treason then.” At that moment, he flipped their arrest into the appearance of a coup. By framing their actions as treason, Palpatine gained the excuse he needed to brand the Jedi as enemies of the Republic.

After Windu fell and the Jedi failed to remove him, Palpatine wasted no time presenting the clash as proof of a rebellion. “The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the clone army,” he declared later in the Senate chamber. The fight in his office became the evidence he needed to sell the story of a Jedi insurrection.

That same day, Palpatine delivered his full speech—later published as the Declaration of a New Order. It made the Jedi sound like traitors who had conspired with the Separatists all along:

“The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, had conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy’s leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic into ruin… The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the clone army… The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled.”

With those words, Palpatine presented Order 66 not as a purge, but as a defensive action. The clones had “contained the insurrection” in the Jedi Temple, while loyal citizens stood with their leader. By the end of the speech, the Republic was declared dead, replaced by the first Galactic Empire:

“In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society… Ten thousand years of peace begins today.”

Exhausted by years of war, rationing, and loss, citizens were ready to believe that story. Suspicion of the Jedi was already widespread. When Palpatine said the Jedi had tried to seize power, the claim fit the mood of the galaxy. As thunderous applause filled the Senate chamber, resistance outside remained scarce, and the purge of the Jedi began under a veil of public approval.

Imperial Erasure Of The Jedi

Killing Jedi ended the Order, but that wasn’t enough for the Empire. They set out to erase the memory of the Jedi from society. The Star Wars: Purge – The Tyrant’s Fist comics show exactly how it unfolded on Vaklin, a planet with deep Jedi traditions.

Palpatine told Vader that ruling through fear alone would not work. Vader brought in ISB Major Oniye Namada to study the people and cut out their loyalty. Her plan played out in clear steps:

• Statues of Jedi in the city square were blasted apart. An Imperial Education Center replaced them, forcing children to learn the Empire’s version of history.
• Forests planted by Jedi Masters were burned, and streets tied to Jedi battles were rebuilt. Every trace of their presence was scrubbed.
• Citizens with Jedi-linked names were forced to change them.
• A Jedi was executed in public as a warning.
• Cho’na Bene, a Jedi who escaped Vader, sought help from locals. Major Namada, disguised as a trooper, shot him and convinced onlookers it was street violence. Fear silenced any defense of the Jedi.

By the end, Vaklin’s people had accepted the Imperial story. Children attended Imperial schools, the Jedi monuments were gone, and speaking about the Order became dangerous. One generation later, memories of Jedi heroes were almost completely gone. You can see full plot here in another article of ours.