President Donald Trump said a group of Democratic politicians should be put on trial – and suggested they should even face the death penalty – after they released a video telling intelligence community and military members to disobey unlawful orders.
“It’s called seditious behaviour at the highest level,” Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post. “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 any more. An example must be set.”
In a follow-up post, Mr Trump wrote: “Seditious behaviour, punishable by death.“
The President re-posted comments from several Truth Social users, one of whom called for hanging Democrats.
The politicians in the video include senators Elissa Slotkin - a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran - and Mark Kelly - a former astronaut and Navy veteran - as well as representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan.
In the video, they directly address members of the US military and intelligence community, saying the Trump administration was pitting them against the American people and threatening tenets of the Constitution.
The legislators acknowledged that troops were under "enormous stress and pressure".
"Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders," said Mr Kelly.
Ms Slotkin concluded: "Don't give up the ship."
After Mr Trump's posts, the Democrats who appeared in the video said in a joint statement that Americans needed 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 group said. “Our service members should know that we have their backs as they fulfil their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders.”
Democratic leaders also condemned Mr Trump’s posts, with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer calling them "deadly serious".
“He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline," Mr Schumer said.
In November 2021, Mr Trump defended the chants of his supporters who called for hanging vice president Mike Pence as they stormed the US Capitol in a deadly riot on January 6 that year. Several people involved in the riot were charged with seditious conspiracy.
On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said "no" when asked if the President wanted to execute members of Congress, but she castigated the Democrats for encouraging members of the military to defy the chain of command.
For civilians, US law has no provision for a charge of sedition, although "seditious conspiracy" carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. For troops, the Uniform Code of Military Justice includes a section on sedition, with possible penalties including death.
While the Congress members in the video did not refer to any particular incident or mission that might be considered unlawful, some Democrats in Congress have been sharply critical of Mr Trump's military strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the southern Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on the legality and lack of transparency. There have also been concerns that Mr Trump will launch an attack on Venezuela.
Democrats have also challenged Mr Trump's attempts to send National Guard officers to support immigration crackdowns in US cities.
