President Donald Trump on Thursday accused six Democratic lawmakers of engaging in “seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH,” escalating a political clash that erupted after the lawmakers released a video urging U.S. service members to uphold the Constitution and reject “illegal orders.” The lawmakers — all veterans of the armed forces or intelligence community — posted the 90-second message Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account, saying they feared troops were facing “enormous stress and pressure.”
In the video, Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan address military personnel directly, reminding them that their oath requires loyalty to the Constitution above all else. “The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution,” Slotkin wrote in the accompanying post. The lawmakers urge service members to refuse unlawful commands and conclude the video with the historic naval refrain, “Don’t give up the ship.”
The lawmakers did not cite specific incidents, but their message came as the Trump administration continued efforts to deploy National Guard troops into U.S. cities for varying missions. Some deployments have been challenged in court or reversed.
Under U.S. military law, commanders are responsible for rejecting unlawful orders, and rank-and-file troops may be held criminally liable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for carrying out commands later deemed illegal. At the same time, troops can face charges for disobeying orders found to be lawful, including violations under Articles 90 and 92 of the UCMJ.
Trump responded Thursday by reposting multiple critiques of the Democrats’ video and adding his own condemnation. He called the message “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country,” before labeling the lawmakers “traitors” and demanding they be “LOCKED UP.” In a separate post, he wrote that the Democrats’ appeal amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” He also amplified comments from other accounts, including one calling for them to be hanged.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, responding to questions about the president’s remarks, focused instead on the lawmakers’ call to refuse orders, suggesting their message “perhaps is punishable by law.” She argued that encouraging troops to defy the chain of command was “a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do.”
Democrats reacted sharply. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was “lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline.” House Speaker Mike Johnson countered that the president was not advocating violence, saying Trump was “defining a crime,” and called the Democrats’ video “wildly inappropriate” for elected officials.
Some of Trump’s allies intensified the criticism. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Fox News that the video amounted to “insurrection” and a “general call for rebellion” from Democratic lawmakers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the video on X as “Stage 4 TDS.”
The Steady State, a network of current and former national security officials, defended the lawmakers’ message, saying it merely restated longstanding military doctrine about unlawful orders. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell rejected the idea that illegal orders were being issued. “Our military follows orders, and our civilians give legal orders,” he told The Associated Press. “We love the Constitution. These politicians are out of their minds.”
The Associated Press
