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WASHINGTON (CN) — Congressional Democrats were furious Thursday after President Donald Trump appeared to call for the execution of several lawmakers over a video clip in which they urged the military to refuse illegal orders from the White House.
The president took aim at the group of Democrats, which included Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Representative Chrissy Houlahan and Colorado Representative Jason Crow, in a series of posts made Thursday morning on his social media platform Truth Social.
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” Trump wrote in one post. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL.”
In the video clip posted to social media Tuesday, the Democrats — all military veterans — told service members that Americans’ trust in the military was at risk thanks to the Trump administration, which was “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.” They argued that the White House’s actions were threatening the Constitution.
“Our laws are clear,” the lawmakers said. “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.”
A furious Trump on Thursday said that the Democrats’ words “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country," adding that they “cannot be allowed to stand.” He suggested that the lawmakers could be imprisoned — and in a separate post, added that their behavior was “punishable by DEATH!”
The president also reposted several other comments from followers on Truth Social, including one that read: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!”
Democrats accused Trump of stoking political violence by calling for the death of several members of Congress.
“Donald Trump should keep his reckless mouth shut,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. He said that House Democrats had contacted U.S. Capitol Police to ensure the safety of the lawmakers and their families.
“We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same,” said Jeffries. “Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that the president’s comments were “outrageous and dangerous.”
Illinois Representative Brad Schneider, chair of the House’s centrist New Democrat Coalition, concurred, writing in a post on X that Trump had made “dangerous” threats against sitting lawmakers because they didn’t agree with him.
“None of this is normal,” said Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar.
Still, some Republicans criticized Democrats for urging the military to disobey certain orders. Texas Representative Pat Fallon, speaking on Fox News, called the lawmakers’ video “problematic” and “subversive.”
“There’s no specificity in it at all,” said Fallon, who argued that the Democrats’ plea was overly broad. “As a former active duty member of the U.S. military, one of the first things they teach you is that you don’t follow illegal orders,” he added. “So they’re being redundant as well.”
The Trump administration has faced serious scrutiny over several of its military actions both inside the U.S. and outside its borders.
The White House has faced a bevy of legal challenges as it has attempted to deploy National Guard soldiers to cities across the country — part of Trump’s crackdown on what he’s framed as out-of-control crime and illegal immigration. Several courts have ruled that the deployments violate federal law.
And the administration has also been accused of illegally striking supposed drug trafficking boats off the coast of Venezuela. The cascade of airstrikes have killed dozens of people, whom Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has branded “narco-terrorists” smuggling drugs into the U.S. But at least one person reportedly killed by the U.S. military was a Colombian fisherman, not a drug trafficker.
As the Pentagon increases military presence in the Caribbean, fueling fears of a wider war against Venezuela, Senate Democrats have repeatedly tried to leverage the chamber’s war powers to block Trump from carrying out further strikes. Republicans, however, have blocked those efforts each time.
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