Washington, D.C. – November 21, 2025 – In a fiery outburst that has ignited fierce partisan debate, President Donald Trump demanded the arrest and trial of six Democratic lawmakers on Thursday, branding their recent video message to U.S. service members and intelligence officers as "seditious behavior" potentially "punishable by death." The president's posts on his Truth Social platform, which garnered millions of views within hours, accused the group—all veterans or former intelligence officials—of treasonous acts for urging military personnel to "refuse unlawful orders." This confrontation unfolds against a backdrop of legal battles over Trump's controversial federalization of National Guard troops for domestic crime-fighting operations in Democratic-led cities, raising alarms about the erosion of civil-military boundaries and the Posse Comitatus Act.
The controversy erupted shortly after the lawmakers released their 90-second video on Tuesday, November 18, which quickly went viral with over 15 million views across social media platforms. Led by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former CIA analyst with multiple tours in Iraq, the message featured Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut; Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), an Army Ranger veteran; Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a former Navy JAG officer; Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), a former intelligence officer; and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an Air Force Academy graduate and helicopter pilot. Each lawmaker invoked their service credentials, emphasizing an oath shared with active-duty personnel: to "protect and defend the Constitution" above all else.
In the video, Slotkin opens by addressing the "enormous stress and pressure" facing service members, stating, "Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk." Kelly, who flew combat missions in the Gulf War and commanded space shuttle missions, adds, "This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens." The group repeatedly stresses, "Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution." Houlahan closes with a nod to naval tradition: "Don't give up the ship," a rallying cry from the War of 1812 symbolizing defiance in the face of unlawful authority.
The lawmakers did not cite specific orders in the video, but its timing aligns with growing unease over Trump's domestic military deployments. Since June 2025, the administration has federalized thousands of National Guard troops to support law enforcement in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Washington, D.C., ostensibly to combat rising crime and immigration-related unrest. Trump signed an executive order on August 25 establishing "specialized" Guard units trained for "public order issues," directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure state Guards are equipped to assist federal agents in quelling disturbances. Critics, including Slotkin, argue these moves skirt the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a Reconstruction-era law prohibiting federal troops from domestic policing without congressional approval or extraordinary circumstances like invasion or rebellion.
Legal challenges have proliferated. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom sued in June over the deployment of 4,000 Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled on September 2 that the action violated Posse Comitatus, finding no evidence of "rebellion" or inability of local forces to maintain order; an appeals court later stayed the ruling, allowing about 100 troops to remain. Similar suits followed: Illinois and Chicago filed on October 4, securing a temporary block on 1,300 out-of-state Guard troops headed to the city; Oregon and Portland won an initial injunction against 200 troops in early October, though it remains under appeal. The District of Columbia's attorney general sued in September, invoking the Home Rule Act to challenge 2,200 troops patrolling amid what Trump called "out-of-control" crime—despite FBI data showing a 12% drop in violent incidents year-over-year.
Trump's response to the video was swift and incendiary. At 7:01 a.m. EST on Thursday, he posted: "This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. Seditious behavior from traitors!!! Lock them up???" In a follow-up, he escalated: "It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." He reposted calls for execution, including one reading, "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!" and added, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" The posts, viewed over 50 million times by midday Friday, drew immediate backlash from Democrats and some Republicans, who decried them as threats of political violence.
The targeted lawmakers fired back in a joint statement: "No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us... What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law." They framed their message as a defense of constitutional oaths, not insurrection: "This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity." Sen. Kelly posted personally: "I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane... I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution. Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it." Slotkin, accompanied by U.S. Capitol Police to a Thursday event, told reporters, "When a lion’s share of Americans understand that it is in their own power to push back on this kind of rhetoric... that’s when we actually turn the tide."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt walked back the rhetoric during a briefing, insisting Trump seeks no executions but accusing the lawmakers of "encourag[ing] active-duty service members... to defy the president's lawful orders." She highlighted their "credentials as former members of our military... to signal... that you can defy him and betray your oath," calling it a "very dangerous message." White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had amplified the video earlier, labeling it an "open call for insurrection."
Legal experts largely dismiss Trump's sedition claims. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ Article 94), active-duty personnel can face death for mutiny or sedition in wartime, but the lawmakers—now civilians—are subject to 18 U.S.C. § 2384, seditious conspiracy, punishable by up to 20 years, not execution. UC-Davis law professor Carlton Larson noted the statute requires "an agreement to commit certain unlawful actions," absent here, as the video explicitly upholds the law. PolitiFact rated Trump's assertion "false," affirming service members' duty to disobey illegal orders per UCMJ and international law. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) demanded explanations from the group, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the video "wildly inappropriate" and "unprecedented."
The episode exacerbates divisions in a polarized Congress. Top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, condemned Trump's words as "disgusting" and an "outrageous call for political violence," urging bipartisan unity. Rep. Crow told CNN, "It’s a moment where Democrats and Republicans... should condemn his calls for political violence." Republicans like Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) echoed White House critiques, calling the video "disturbing." Amid rising political violence—including the 2025 assassinations of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker—the rhetoric has heightened fears of escalation.
Slotkin, in a TMZ interview, revealed the video stemmed from direct outreach by active-duty troops worried about orders like those in recent Caribbean strikes on suspected drug traffickers, which Crow's "War Powers Continuing Resolution" seeks to block as "unauthorized and illegal." Goodlander emphasized, "We’re standing with our brave women and men in uniform." Deluzio, on X, urged, "Stop illegal military strikes. Stop pitting our servicemembers against the American people."
As courts deliberate ongoing suits—California doubled down on its challenge through February 2026—the incident underscores a deeper crisis: the fraying trust between civilian leadership and the military. Historians draw parallels to post-Civil War tensions that birthed Posse Comitatus, warning that politicizing the armed forces risks "an existential threat to our democracy," per the Brennan Center. With Trump's term in its final year, these clashes may foreshadow enduring fault lines in American governance, where oaths to the Constitution collide with commands from the commander-in-chief.
