Trump defends ‘seditious treason’ remark, Democrat seeks police probe into president’s posts

President Donald Trump on Friday denied that he threatened the members of Congress but defended his comment of ‘seditious treason,’ saying that he did not “threaten death” to Democratic lawmakers for treason, which he said a day earlier, was “punishable by death.” When asked to clarify in an interview on conservative Brian Kilmeade’s radio show as to what he meant, Trump said, “In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death. I think they’re in serious trouble. I would say they’re in serious trouble. I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble.” Trump said the lawmakers in the video “broke the law”, and added, “I can say if I ever said that and there were a Democrat as president, all hell would have broken loose. And it has broken loose.” Trump added that he believes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is investigating the situation.

Trump’s latest remarks come after Democratic lawmakers, many of whom are veterans, released a video urging members of the military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders.

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Slotkin, Kelly, Crow, Deluzio, Houlahan and Goodlander didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment in response to Trump’s assertion Friday that he wasn’t threatening death.

Rep. Jason Crow’s office requests police to probe Trump’s posts

Rep. Jason Crow’s office has formally requested that the United States Capitol Police investigate Trump’s recent posts attacking the Democratic congressman, referring to the posts as “intimidating, threatening, and concerning.”

“I write to report threats made by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, against Congressman Jason Crow,” Crow’s office said.

The email then lists Trump’s Truth Social posts attacking the Democrat lawmakers. Trump called the lawmakers “traitors,” accused them of “seditious behaviour” and suggested their actions are “punishable by death.”

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Significant uptick in calls and emails with violent rhetoric, threats

“All of these posts by the president of the United States are intimidating, threatening, and concerning,” the email says.

“After these messages by the President, our congressional offices have seen a significant uptick in calls and emails with violent rhetoric and additional threats.”

Crow told reporters on Capitol Hill that he was “absolutely” receiving more threats since Trump’s posts. “You know, when the president of the United States tweets out death threats and says the things that he says that, you know, that stirs things up a lot,” Crow said.

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