President Donald Trump called for the execution of his political enemies in a series of chilling online posts on Thursday.
Trump, 79, suggested a group of Democrats should be punished by death after they urged U.S. service members and the intelligence community to refuse illegal orders.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he wrote on Truth Social.
It came moments after he melted down over their video message to service members with a post and a series of reposts.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” he wrote.
He also reposted several supporters’ messages, including one that called for their hanging.
“HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” the post reads.
The Democrats’ video, released Tuesday, urges U.S. troops and intelligence officers to reject any unlawful commands.
The group of prominent Democrats includes senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, as well as Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow.
In the video, they speak directly to U.S. service members and the intelligence community, reminding them that they took an oath to the U.S. Constitution and that they “can refuse illegal orders.”
The group warned that the threats to the Constitution are not just coming from abroad but from home and urged them to “not give up the ship.”
The six lawmakers do not specify exactly what would constitute an illegal order in the video, but Crow did address it on Fox News on Wednesday.
“We are standing by our troops, our service members who are often put in very difficult positions, and Donald Trump has put them in very difficult positions and has alluded to putting them in even more difficult positions in the months and years ahead,” he said. “So we are reminding folks about what the uniform code of military justice says, what the Constitution says, what the law of war says.”
Crow is a former Army Ranger who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and is also a Bronze Star recipient. He represents Colorado’s 6th congressional district and sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Armed Services Committee.
When asked about what specifically he was referring to when implying the president might demand something they wouldn’t want to uphold, Crow noted Trump’s comment suggesting protesters be shot in the legs during his first term, as well as suggesting he would send the military into American cities to go to war and alluding to sending troops to polling stations which is against the law.
But Republicans and members of the Trump administration slammed the video.
Stephen Miller fumed that Democrats were stoking “insurrection” and demanded the six lawmakers “resign in disgrace.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reacted to it with a post on X, simply writing: “Stage 4 TDS.”
The six lawmakers released a joint statement slamming the president’s posts on Thursday, in which they vowed they would not cave to threats.
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” they said. “That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.“
They said it is telling that the president “considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law.” They said that service members should know “we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also blasted the president on the Senate floor, where he said every American should condemn the president’s posts immediately.
“Let’s be crystal clear: the president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it’s deadly serious,” Schumer said. “Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
