- Democratic military and intelligence lawmakers urged service members to refuse unlawful orders, citing their oath to the Constitution.
- Trump’s Truth Social post saying “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” prompted death threats and law enforcement protection for targeted Democrats.
- Trump walked back intensity but defended his remark as historical; House Speaker Johnson refused direct criticism, blaming rhetoric broadly.
A group of Democratic lawmakers with extensive military and intelligence backgrounds released a video Tuesday urging U.S. service members and intelligence professionals to reject any unlawful orders from the incoming Trump administration, citing their shared oath to the Constitution.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers declared.
“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 FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
President Donald Trump fired back Thursday on Truth Social, posting in all caps: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He also reposted a follower who wrote, “Hang them George Washington would.”
The targeted Democrats — including Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), and Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) — say the president-elect’s words triggered an instant wave of death threats.
“We’ve got law enforcement out in front of my house,” Slotkin told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Thursday night.
“It changes things immediately… 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.”
Rep. Jason Crow Formally Requests Capitol Police Investigation into Trump’s Posts
Rep. Jason Crow, an Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient, announced Friday that his office has asked the U.S. Capitol Police to open an investigation into Trump’s statements as potential threats against members of Congress.
“Trump’s Truth Social posts threatening to execute Democratic Members of Congress speak for themselves,” Crow said in a statement.
“No matter his attempts to silence and intimidate me, I will not back down from my lifetime oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.”
Marine Corps combat veteran Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) accused Trump of deliberately inciting violence.
“Clearly the president knew exactly what he was doing, trying to turn his online digital mob against these members of Congress,” Gallego said Friday.
White House Rejects “Execution” Interpretation
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday: “No,” when asked if Trump was calling for executions.
She described the Democrats’ video as sending “a very, very dangerous message.”
Trump himself addressed the uproar during a Friday morning interview on Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade’s show, where he walked back the intensity while standing by his core accusation.
“In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death,” Trump said, referring to historical precedents for sedition.
He insisted he wasn’t issuing modern-day threats: “I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, it was death. That was seditious behavior.”
Trump added that the lawmakers “broke the law” and claimed Pete Hegseth, was already looking into the matter.
“I can say if I ever said that and there were a Democrat as president, all hell would have broken loose,” he continued.
“And it has broken loose.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) refused to condemn Trump’s language directly.
Johnson was pressed on the escalating threats during a Friday press conference.
While acknowledging the peril of overheated language, he spread responsibility across the aisle: “I don’t think you can put the blame on the president for any of that,” Johnson said.
“The rhetoric is heated all the way around. We’ve had Democrats throughout this Congress who have in essence encouraged political violence against the president himself, against Republicans. I’ve been calling on people to turn down the rhetoric across the board, everywhere, throughout the institutions. It’s a dangerous time.”
Johnson conceded he wouldn’t have phrased it the same way but stopped short of criticizing Trump directly.
Broader Context: Threats Against Public Officials at Record High
The episode comes amid a documented spike in threats against lawmakers and two assassination attempts on Trump himself in 2024.
Capitol Police have declined to comment on Crow’s request for an investigation into the president-elect’s posts.
Slotkin, meanwhile, remains under 24/7 protection, her office confirming that officers were stationed outside her home almost immediately after Trump’s posts went viral.
“I will not back down,” Rep. Crow reiterated Friday, a sentiment echoed by every lawmaker targeted in the president-elect’s posts.
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
