If you get the following error when trying to delete a User from Active Directory:

If you know you have sufficient privileges (Domain Administrator, etc.) to delete users in AD, check to see if the Object (user account) is set for “Protect object from accidental deletion” (see below):

Uncheck the box and hit Apply.

The above image is done via ADUC. The feature is more front and center if you’re using ADAC, as seen below:

You should now be able to successfully delete the user account.

Alternatively, you can use Set-ADObject via PowerShell to set “-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion:$false”

In this example: Set-ADObject -Identity:”CN=Alshon Jeffery,CN=Users,DC=AP,DC=local” -ProtectFromAccidentalDeletion:$false

Doing this via PowerShell can be helpful especially if you have more than one user you need to set this for.