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By Shane Croucher
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President Donald Trump demanded the arrest and trial of several "seditious" Democratic lawmakers over a video in which they appealed directly to serving military and intelligence personnel to "refuse illegal orders"—and said their actions were "punishable by DEATH!" He also shared a social media post calling to "hang" the Democrats.
Democratic leaders called Trump's remarks "unhinged" and condemned what they said were "disgusting and dangerous death threats," urging Republicans to "forcefully do the same". They told Trump to delete the posts.
Trump's incendiary rhetoric comes amid serious bipartisan concern about rising political violence in the United States in the wake of high-profile assassinations, including those of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and a Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota.
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His accusation of sedition is the latest volley in a years-long exchange between his Republicans and the Democrats, each side accusing the other of violating the U.S. Constitution and undermining democracy in pursuit of their own partisan and ideological interests.
The video to which Trump is reacting features a number of Democratic lawmakers from the Senate and House, themselves veterans of different military and intelligence services, urging serving personnel: "Don't give up the ship." Military and intelligence personnel are required to obey lawful orders from superiors.
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It comes as the Trump administration's opponents raise questions about the legality of his federal troop deployments to U.S. cities and lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea.
"It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL," the Republican president said in a Thursday morning post on his Truth Social platform. "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."
In a follow-up post, Trump added: "This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the president was not calling for the execution of Democratic lawmaker, despite Trump’s social media post. Asked directly whether the president meant the members of Congress—each of them a military veteran—should be killed, Leavitt responded, “No.”
She said instead that encouraging troops to defy the chain of command could endanger national security and cost lives.
“Every single order given to the U.S. military by this commander in chief, through the chain of command and the secretary of war, is lawful,” Leavitt said.
And in another, Trump said: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California and a likely 2028 presidential candidate, called Trump "sick in the head" in response to his comments in a post on X.
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'You Must Refuse Illegal Orders'
The Democrats featured in the video are Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Representatives Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, New Hampshire Representative Maggie Goodlander, and Colorado Representative Jason Crow.
Newsweek has reached out to the lawmakers for comment on Trump's remarks.
"This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens," the Democrats say in the video.
"Like us, you all swore an oath. To protect and defend this Constitution. 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."
They added: "We know this is hard, and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you're serving in the CIA, the Army, our Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical. And know that we have your back. We need you to stand up for our laws, our constitution, and who we are as Americans."
Update 11/20/25 11:21 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a comment by Gavin Newsom.
Update 11/20/25 11:17 a.m. ET: This article was updated after additional comments by Trump.
Update 11/20/25, 10:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 11/20/25, 2:53 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional comments by Karoline Leavitt.
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