‘Seditious behaviour, punishable by death’: Trump slams Democrats for urging military to ignore illegal orders

President Donald Trump on Thursday accused several Democratic lawmakers of “seditious behaviour” and called for them to “be arrested and put on trial” for behaviour that could be “punishable by death.” The lawmakers, many of whom are veterans, had on Tuesday posted a video telling military and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders”.

“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET,” the president wrote in one Truth Social post Thursday morning. He also added a link to an article in the Washington Examiner about the video in the post on Truth Social.

“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump wrote in another post.

In a third, he wrote, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Trump also reposted multiple posts from other Truth Social users about the video, including one that said, “Hang them George Washington would.”

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‘You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders’

In the video posted by Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin on Tuesday, the lawmakers, who were military veterans and former intelligence officials, spoke directly to members of the military and intelligence community.

“We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk,” said the Democratic lawmakers, including Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Reps. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Jason Crow of Colorado.

“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” they added. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

The lawmakers did not call for opposition to any specific policies or orders.

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‘Democratic lawmakers openly calling for insurrection’

The day the video was posted, Trump adviser Stephen Miller condemned the Democratic lawmakers and accused them of “openly calling for insurrection.”

At a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “no” when asked if Trump wants to execute members of Congress.

Leavitt criticised the Democratic lawmakers in the video and said, “You have sitting members of the United States Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the United States military, to active duty service members, to members of national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the president's lawful orders.”

“I’m not a lawyer. I’ll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide,” she added.

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‘Dark day in the country for any president to say such a thing’

Hours after Trump’s post, the targeted Democratic lawmakers released a statement, calling on Americans to “unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence.”

"What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law," the lawmakers said in a statement posted to X.

“It’s a dark day in the country for any president to say such a thing,” Deluzio said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also criticised the lawmakers and said their message was “wildly inappropriate, dangerous and unprecedented in American history.”

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke about the posts on the Senate floor, saying, “The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it’s deadly serious.”

“He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline,” Schumer added.