President Donald Trump has taken his war on political enemies to a chilling new level, publicly suggesting that a group of Democratic veterans who reminded troops of their duty to reject unlawful orders deserve the death penalty.
In a Thursday blast on Truth Social, Trump raged at six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a one minute video telling members of the military and intelligence community to stand by their oaths and refuse illegal commands.
Calling their message “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”, the president framed the entirely legal exhortation as treasonous rebellion against his authority.
The lawmakers in Trump’s crosshairs are Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, along with Representatives Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania’s Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan. All six have military or national security backgrounds, including service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, CIA and Navy Reserve.
Their offense, in Trump’s telling, is a video posted to social media that never mentions his name but clearly alludes to concerns about his return to power. “Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the lawmakers say. “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.”
Trump calls for Democratic members of Congress to be hanged pic.twitter.com/50Q36sw6el
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 20, 2025
Trump responded as if they had called for mutiny. Sharing coverage of the clip, he wrote, “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” In another post, he escalated further, declaring that their conduct was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
He did not stop there. Trump also amplified one supporter’s fantasy of frontier style retribution, re sharing a Truth Social post that read, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” The message explicitly urged execution of the sitting lawmakers, and Trump chose to put his stamp of approval on it by boosting it to his millions of followers.
On its face, nothing in the Democrats’ video is remotely illegal. Military law already requires service members to disobey unlawful orders, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice can punish troops who carry out blatantly illegal commands. The lawmakers simply reminded personnel of that long standing duty and framed it as a defense of the Constitution rather than any individual leader.
Trump’s death penalty talk is pure political bluster, not backed by any clear statute. The World War I era Sedition Act that once criminalized speech against the government was repealed in 1920, and modern First Amendment doctrine gives extraordinarily broad protection to political speech, especially by elected officials.
There is also the small matter of the Constitution itself. Members of Congress enjoy sweeping immunity for what they say in the course of their official duties, and courts have treated public statements about national security and the military as classic examples of protected political debate, not grounds for prosecution. Trump’s posts may be ominous, but they do not magically erase those protections.
What his outburst does accomplish is further ratcheting up the temperature around the military, a line previous presidents of both parties were careful not to cross. Slotkin has already introduced legislation to curb the president’s ability to deploy the National Guard into American cities, while Crow has pushed resolutions demanding more congressional oversight of military strikes. Their video fits into that larger effort to tie the use of force more tightly to law and constitutional norms.
Trump, facing diving approval ratings and ongoing scrutiny over his handling of everything from foreign conflicts to the long promised Epstein files, has instead chosen to brand those lawmakers “traitors to our Country” and float the idea that reminding troops of their legal obligations should be a capital crime.
The Democrats in the video told service members, “Don’t give up the ship.” Trump’s latest eruption shows he is more than willing to light political fires around the military, then dare the rest of the country to put them out.
