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US President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric against six Democratic lawmakers, saying they “should be in jail” for appearing in a video that urged military personnel to refuse unlawful commands. The president’s late-night statement on Saturday followed his earlier accusation that the group had engaged in “seditious behaviour, punishable by death.”
Democrats swiftly condemned Trump’s remarks, calling them “absolutely vile” and warning that the president’s language amounted to threats against elected officials. All six lawmakers featured in the video have backgrounds in the military or intelligence services.
Writing on social media on Saturday night, Trump said: “THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK.” He went on to describe their intervention as “SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL” and insisted there could be “no other interpretation” of their actions.
The video, released on Friday, urged US military officers to “refuse illegal orders” and featured Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and House members Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire. The lawmakers did not cite any specific orders, though Trump has previously deployed the National Guard to several US cities — often over the objections of local leaders — in the name of restoring order.
Internationally, Trump has authorised strikes on what he described as drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, operations that have left more than 80 people dead and which experts have labelled unlawful.
The president has repeatedly referenced the death penalty in relation to those he claims have undermined him. In 2023, former US military chief Mark Milley revealed that he had contacted his Chinese counterpart after the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack to reassure Beijing that the United States remained stable and did not intend to launch hostilities. Trump later wrote that, “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
