US President Donald Trump has threatened the death penalty against a group of Democratic congressmen who called on the military and intelligence agencies to refuse illegal orders.
He also suggested he supported jailing Democratic members of Congress for their comments.
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“This is really bad and dangerous to our country. We cannot let their words stand. This is sedition by traitors!!! Lock them up???,” Trump wrote Thursday as part of a series of posts on his platform Truth Social.
A follow-up message released about 40 minutes later included just five words: “Sedition, punishable by death!”
Democrats quickly condemned the Republican leader’s comments as “utterly despicable.”
President Trump’s threat came in response to a video released on Nov. 18 that included clips of six Democratic senators and representatives, all of whom were veterans of the U.S. military or its intelligence services.
In the video, members of Congress remind their military and intelligence colleagues of their duty to “reject unlawful orders.”
“We know you are under a lot of stress and pressure right now,” the lawmakers said. “Americans trust our military, and that trust is at risk.”
red line for military personnel
The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes it illegal for military personnel to deliberately disobey orders from their superiors.
However, such an order is only legal if it is “not inconsistent with the Constitution, the laws of the United States, or any lawful superior order.” Orders that “exceed the authority of the issuing officer” are also considered illegal.
As a result, it is widely understood that under U.S. law, soldiers and military personnel have a duty to refuse orders that they understand to be illegal.
In a landmark 1969 case known as United States v. Keenan, a military court ruled that “obedience to lawful orders is justified, but execution of clearly unlawful orders is not.”
A video released by the Democratic Party this week suggests that military personnel are facing such situations today.
In a statement from several lawmakers, including Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Democrats are appealing to military and intelligence officials to stand up to illegal demands.
“Unlawful orders must be rejected. No one should have to carry out orders that violate the law or the Constitution,” the Democrats said in a joint statement.
“We know this is tough and it’s a difficult time to be a civil servant. But whether you serve in the CIA, Army, Navy, or Air Force, vigilance is important. And know that we have your back.”
Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania also participated in the video.
They end the video with a popular slogan within the military: “Never let go of the ship.” This phrase refers to the death cry of a 19th century American naval captain who rallied his fellow sailors to fight to the end.
Online discussion using video
But some Republican lawmakers are interpreting the video as a politically motivated call to defy the order.
For example, Trump’s Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller posted on social media: “Democrats are now openly calling for an insurrection.”
Democrats quickly fired back, claiming they were simply pointing to existing military law and case law.
“This is a law. It was passed down to us by the founding fathers to ensure that the military, not the king, upheld its oath to the Constitution,” Slotkin said in response to Miller’s post. “Given that you direct so much of our military policy, we need to strengthen the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
Meanwhile, Crow criticized policies he believes violate U.S. law, including President Trump’s decision to deploy military to police civilians and recent bombing campaigns against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
“The President is trampling on the Constitution,” Crow wrote. “Stop politicizing our military. Stop illegal military attacks. Stop pitting military personnel against the American people.”
The Posse Policing Act of 1878 restricts the use of military for domestic law enforcement, and legal experts, including those from the United Nations, have warned that the boat-bombing operation violates the United Nations Charter and international and domestic human rights law.
“These attacks and their growing human toll are unacceptable,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said last month.
He added that the “extrajudicial killing” of suspected drug smugglers on a boat has “no legitimacy under international law.” At least 83 people were killed in the attack.
But on Thursday, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt insisted that President Trump has adhered to the letter of the law in all orders to the military.
“Every order given to this U.S. military by this commander in chief and through this chain of command through the secretary of the Army is lawful,” she said at a news conference.
“We do things by law, and suggesting and encouraging active-duty military members to defy the chain of command is extremely dangerous for a sitting member of Congress.”
He added that Democrats must “take responsibility” for their “dangerous statements.”
History of threats to rivals
Thursday’s threats against Democratic lawmakers are not the first time President Trump has threatened prison or even the death penalty in front of his political opponents.
During his successful 2016 presidential campaign, Trump turned the possibility of jailing his political opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, into a national rallying cry.
The crowd at his event applauded him and shouted, “Lock her up! Lock her up!”
Mr. Trump claimed that Ms. Clinton’s use of a private email server merited her imprisonment and branded her conduct corrupt. “They should lock her up because of what she did. They should. It’s shameful,” he said at a campaign event in North Carolina in 2016.
Even after taking office, President Trump continued to threaten the arrest of his critics and perceived opponents. For example, in 2020 he used social media to advocate for the imprisonment of those involved in the 2016 investigation into alleged Russian election interference, which he considers a “hoax.”
“Where are the arrestees?” he asked. “The long sentence should have started two years ago. It’s embarrassing.”
During his most recent run for president in 2024, he returned to the theme of incarceration, calling for the prosecution of then-President Joe Biden and his Democratic successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“She should be impeached and prosecuted for her actions,” Trump said of Harris at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, accusing immigrants of crimes.
Mr. Trump’s threats also target members of his own party who he perceives to be disloyal.
Republican Liz Cheney, for example, investigated Trump’s actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. She was among a bipartisan group of House members who recommended criminal charges against Trump for his actions.
In the 2024 presidential election, Cheney ultimately endorsed Harris over Trump, a fellow member of her party. In response to public criticism of her, President Trump publicly mused about her facing a firing squad.
“She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said. “Let’s put her up there with a rifle and nine barrels pointing at her. Okay? Let’s see what she thinks about that. With a gun pointed at her face.” His campaign later revealed that he intended only to highlight Cheney’s hypocrisy.
Since Trump returned to office for a second term in January, critics have argued that he has sought to carry out some of his threats.
For example, in September, President Trump used social media to demand that Attorney General Pam Bondy prosecute three of his critics: Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former FBI Director James Comey.
“We cannot delay it any longer; it will damage our reputation,” he wrote. “Justice must be served now!!!”
Mr. James and Mr. Comey have since faced criminal charges. A third critic, former Trump adviser John Bolton, was also indicted last month.
All three claim their lawsuit is a form of political retaliation and are now seeking to have the charges dismissed.
President Trump has long argued that the greatest threat to the United States is “the enemy from within,” a vague term he has sometimes applied to Democratic rivals like Schiff.
Last month, he told a gathering of military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, that the “big thing” they would be dealing with going forward was “the enemy from within.”
“We have to deal with it before it gets out of control,” he told a packed room of nearly 800 generals and admirals.
