WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a blistering escalation of partisan rhetoric, President Donald Trump on Thursday unleashed a series of posts on his Truth Social platform accusing six Democratic members of Congress of "seditious behavior" that he deemed "punishable by DEATH!" The outburst, which included reposts amplifying calls for the lawmakers' execution, prompted immediate backlash from Democrats and triggered round-the-clock protection for the targeted politicians by the U.S. Capitol Police. The incident underscores deepening divisions over military loyalty and constitutional oaths amid ongoing controversies surrounding the Trump administration's domestic deployments and overseas operations.
The controversy ignited from a 90-second video released on Tuesday by the six lawmakers – all veterans or former national security officials – addressing active-duty service members and intelligence personnel. Titled "Don't Give Up the Ship," a nod to the War of 1812 naval battle cry popularized by Captain James Lawrence, the clip urged recipients to prioritize their oath to the Constitution over potentially unlawful directives. "Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution," the lawmakers intoned in a spliced montage. "Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution."
The video featured Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst who served three terms in the House before her 2024 Senate victory; Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a retired Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut whose wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, survived a 2011 assassination attempt; Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), an Army Ranger who earned a Bronze Star in Iraq; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), a former Air Force helicopter pilot; Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), a Navy JAG officer who deployed to Afghanistan; and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), a Navy Reserve intelligence officer and wife of Biden-era National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. None specified particular orders, but the message arrived amid scrutiny of two Trump policies: the deployment of National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities for immigration enforcement and crime suppression, and lethal U.S. military strikes on suspected narco-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
These operations have drawn bipartisan legal challenges. House Democrats invoked the War Powers Resolution on Tuesday to curb the narco-strikes, citing a Pentagon briefing where Southern Command's top lawyer deemed them potentially unlawful – a view overruled by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Courts have similarly halted some National Guard mobilizations in cities like Los Angeles and Portland, questioning their compliance with the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits federal military involvement in domestic law enforcement. "Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk," the video warned, adding, "This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. Know that we have your back."
Trump's response erupted Thursday morning, hours after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller labeled the video an "open call for insurrection" on X. Reposting a Washington Examiner article, Trump wrote: "It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. 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 anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET." He followed with: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and amplified a user's post: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!" The flurry, viewed millions of times, echoed Trump's past rhetoric, such as his 2016 "lock her up" chants against Hillary Clinton, but crossed into unprecedented territory by invoking capital punishment against sitting lawmakers.
The posts ignited a firestorm. Slotkin reported receiving "hundreds of threats" within hours, telling MSNBC's Chris Hayes: "If the president is saying you should be hanged, then we shouldn’t be surprised when folks on the ground are going to follow suit and say even worse." She appeared at a D.C. event flanked by Capitol Police, her team having requested extra security. Kelly, drawing on his wife's near-fatal shooting, posted on X: "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." Deluzio echoed the sentiment on CNN: "This is the president of the United States calling for the death of a member of Congress... a different brand of political violence." Houlahan told CNN's Erin Burnett: "I'm just continually stunned by the fact the commander in chief... has called for my death." Crow requested a Capitol Police investigation into Trump's posts as potential threats.
In a joint statement, the six reaffirmed their stance: "We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation. What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our service members should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders."
House Democratic leadership mobilized swiftly. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) issued a statement: "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." They confirmed direct coordination with the Capitol Police and House Sergeant-at-Arms to safeguard the lawmakers and their families, adding: "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 (D-NY) thundered from the floor: "Let’s be crystal clear: The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it’s deadly serious."
Republican reactions were muted. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the video "wildly inappropriate" for encouraging troops to "disobey orders," but distanced himself from Trump's language: "The words that the president chose are not the ones that I would use... Obviously, I don't think that these are crimes punishable by death." Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) concurred: "I don’t agree with that." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her briefing, denied Trump sought executions: "No." She pivoted to the video, arguing it encouraged defiance of "lawful orders" and risked "chaos" in the chain of command. "These members knew what they were doing... That is a very dangerous message, and it perhaps is punishable by law," she said, highlighting the lawmakers' credentials.
Legal experts largely sided with the Democrats. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) explicitly mandates disobedience of "manifestly illegal" orders, such as those committing war crimes or violating constitutional rights – a doctrine rooted in the Nuremberg trials and affirmed in cases like U.S. v. Keenan (1969). "The speech Trump is criticizing simply states the law: soldiers are not to follow unconstitutional or illegal orders," UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky told USA Today. Sedition charges, under 18 U.S.C. § 2384, require conspiracy to overthrow the government by force – a high bar unmet here, as the video lacks calls for violence or insurrection. For military personnel, UCMJ Article 94 allows death for mutiny or sedition, but applying it to civilians like these lawmakers is untenable.
The episode unfolds against a backdrop of heightened political violence. Since 2024, threats against Congress have surged 30%, per the Capitol Police, exacerbated by two attempts on Trump's life, the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in July 2025, and a Minnesota Democrat's killing in September. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) decried Trump's words as a "call for violence" against his state's delegation. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Trump "sick in the head." Even some conservatives, like former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), labeled it "a threat to America."
As of Friday, the Capitol Police had extended 24/7 protection to all six lawmakers, with Slotkin noting a "huge spike in death threats" to her office. Trump doubled down in a Fox News interview: "In the old days, if you said anything like that, that was punishable by death... They are in serious trouble." He insisted he wasn't threatening them personally, but the damage was done. The video's creators vowed resilience: "We refuse to be intimidated out of defending the country we love."
This clash not only highlights fissures in civil-military relations but raises alarms about democratic norms. As one veteran lawmaker put it, "Words have consequences, especially when they come from the President." With midterms looming and Trump's agenda under fire, the stakes – and the safeguards – have never been higher.
