President Trump said Thursday that Democratic lawmakers who publicly urged active-duty military personnel to “reject illegal orders” committed sedition and deserved the death penalty.
“This is what is called sedition at the highest level. Each and every traitor to our country must be arrested and brought to justice. Their words are unacceptable – we don’t have a country anymore!!! We must set an example,” Trump said.
Trump also amplified more than a dozen social media posts by others calling for Democrats to be arrested, prosecuted and possibly hanged in response to Trump’s posts. President Trump continued, “This is sedition and deserves the death penalty!”
The president’s remarks came in response to his urging of military and intelligence officials to “reject unlawful orders.”
The Democrats who released the video — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Michigan Sen. Alyssa Slotkin, Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Hoolahan, and Colorado Rep. Jason Crow — served in the military or in intelligence.
He did not specify which order he was referring to. But they said the Trump administration is “pitting uniformed military personnel and intelligence professionals against the American people” and that threats to the Constitution are coming “from right here at home.”
The video, posted Tuesday, quickly drew criticism from Republicans, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who characterized it as “Stage 4 (Trump Derangement Syndrome).” But President Trump, who first responded to the video on Thursday, characterized it as more than a partisan speech.
“Seditious act by traitors!!! Lock them up???” Trump said in another post.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said “no” on Thursday when asked if the president wanted to execute members of Congress, as suggested in one of her social media posts.
But the president wants them to “hold themselves accountable,” Levitt said.
“This is a very dangerous message and probably punishable by law,” Levitt said. “That’s up to the Department of Justice and the Department of the Army.”
what is written in the law
Under a federal law known as “seditious conspiracy,” it is a crime for two or more individuals to “conspire to overthrow, suppress, or destroy the government of the United States by force” or to “prevent, impede, or delay the execution of the laws of the United States” by force.
The sedition conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Federal courts and legal scholars have long emphasized that sedition and conspiracy charges apply only to organized efforts to use force against the government, not political opposition.
The last time federal prosecutors pursued seditious conspiracy charges was in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges for plotting to block the transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden by force.
Among the individuals convicted was former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, whose 22-year sentence was the harshest of any member of the January 6th riot. President Trump pardoned him earlier this year.
Hours after the president’s post, six Democratic members of Congress issued a joint statement calling on Americans to “unite in condemning our president’s calls for murder and political violence.”
“Most importantly, the president believes that our re-enactment of the law would amount to the death penalty,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “Service members should know that they stand with us as we fulfill our oath to the Constitution and our obligation to obey only legal orders.”
Democratic leaders in Washington and across the country condemned Trump’s posts.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in a statement with other Democratic leaders that Trump’s comments were “a disgusting and dangerous death threat against members of Congress.” They added that they were in contact with the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure the safety of Democratic lawmakers and their families.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to a post calling President Trump “crazy” for calling for the death of a Democratic congressman.
