President Donald Trump accused six Democratic lawmakers of “seditious behavior punishable by death” after they released a video calling on US military personnel to refuse illegal orders.
“This is really bad and dangerous for our country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDIMENTARY BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! BAKE THEM???,” Trump wrote on social media.
Six lawmakers, all of whom served in the military or intelligence services, called the remarks dangerous and said they constituted threats against elected officials.
“No threats, intimidation or incitement to violence will deter us from this sacred commitment,” they said in a joint statement.
The video, released Tuesday by Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, features Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Reps. Chris DeLuzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Jason Crow of Colorado.
A message from Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who served in the Navy and is a former astronaut, said: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”
“No one is obligated to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution,” the lawmakers say in the video.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence professionals against American citizens,” the document says. “Like us, you are all sworn to defend this Constitution. Right now, threats to our Constitution are coming not only from abroad, but right here at home.”
Trump's response Thursday morning came from a series of TruthSocial posts.
“This is called SEDIMENTARY BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each and every one of these traitors to our country must be ARRESTED AND TRIALED. Their words cannot be left unchanged – we will no longer have a Country!!! AN EXAMPLE MUST BE SET,” he wrote in one post on Thursday.
He went on to say, “This is really bad and dangerous for our country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDIMENTARY BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! BAKE THEM???”
In the third post, he wrote: “SEDIMENTARY CONDUCT, punishable by DEATH!”
Trump also posted a TruthSocial message that said, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!”
At a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt rejected suggestions that Trump was calling for the execution of members of Congress.
“Many people in this room want to talk about the president's response, but not about what prompted the president to respond the way he did,” she said, accusing lawmakers of encouraging troops to defy “lawful orders.”
U.S. House leadership said they are working with Capitol Police to adequately protect lawmakers – and their families – who are at the center of Trump's posts.
The exchange comes amid heightened concerns about politically motivated attacks in the United States.
An October Pew Research Center survey found that 85% of Americans believe such violence is on the rise, a trend repeated in a November Politico and Public First poll.
There have already been a number of high-profile incidents this year, including the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the arson of the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the murder of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband.
After Kirk's murder, many conservatives, including Trump, spoke out against Democrats and said they were responsible for the rise in political violence in the United States.
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene recently spoke about the increase in threats she received after speaking out against Trump on certain issues. According to local police, her son also received death threats.
A growing number of government officials have reported swatting attempts – prank calls to emergency services to deploy a Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team – in recent months.
They include an Indiana Republican who was the target of a separate “Social Truth” attack from the president over his position on redistricting in the state.
