The Hòa Hảo reacted strongly to the legal verdicts as "shameful and unjust". The Dân Xã issued a statement describing the verdict and death penalty as being motivated by spite and being unsupported by evidence. Ba Cụt's defence counsel said the trial set a bad precedent for South Vietnam's fledgling legal system and questioned the integrity of the process. He claimed that VNA troops had engaged in mass rape and plunder of local civilians in their final push against Ba Cụt, and accused the Diệm regime of double standards in not investigating and prosecuting these alleged incidents. He claimed that South Vietnam had "no democracy and no freedom" and "only shamelessness and foolishness" and said that members of the Hòa Hảo would continue to resist the Saigon administration politically and militarily.