🔗 Share this article

Lawmakers from the Democratic party expressed fury after the ex-president accused a contingent of Democratic representatives of being "turncoats" and asserted they should be detained and sentenced "through capital punishment" following their posting of a contentious video.

The Content That Provoked the Controversy

The clip, published on earlier this week, includes six Democratic elected officials who formerly acted in defense or security roles.

"As we did, you all swore an pledge to protect and defend this constitution," the lawmakers stated in the 90-second video. "And right now, the threats to our constitution aren't just from abroad, but from domestically. Our statutes are explicit, you can reject improper directives, you can reject illegal orders, you should decline illegal orders. No one has to execute directives that contravene the statutes or our national charter."

Donald Trump's Angry Reply

The clip appeared to provoke a furious reply from the former president.

On Thursday morning, Trump published on Truth Social: "It's called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these betrayers to our United States should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL."

In another post, he stated: "This constitutes really serious, and Risky to our United States. Their words cannot be enabled to persist. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

In a additional post, he added: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, liable by DEATH!" He also redistributed a comment that read: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

Party Officials Respond

Following Trump's remarks on Thursday, Democratic leadership issued a joint declaration censuring the statements.

"Political violence has no place in this nation," they stated. "Elected officials who participated in the video all served our United States with exceptional patriotism and distinction. We clearly denounce Donald Trump's offensive and harmful calls for execution against elected officials, and call on GOP representatives to vigorously do the same."

The party representatives also said that they had been in contact with security officials "to guarantee the safety of these officials and their families."

"Donald Trump must right away take down these extreme online messages and withdraw his violent language before he leads to violence," the announcement stated.

Lawmakers' Firm Response

The lawmakers who appeared in the video also released a declaration.

"We are ex-military personnel and security experts who value this United States and took an vow to protect and uphold the national charter of the United States," they said. "This commitment is permanent, and we plan to maintain it. No warning, coercion, or promotion of aggression will stop us from that important duty."

"The most revealing aspect is that the president considers it liable to punishment by capital punishment for us to reiterate the legal requirements," they added. "Armed forces members should understand that we have their support as they execute their oath to the constitution and duty to obey only legal commands. It is not only the proper thing to do, but also our responsibility."

They stated: "All citizens must join forces and condemn the former president's calls for our execution and ideological conflict. This is a period for principled stance."

Additional Political Reactions

The Democratic Senate minority leader also censured Trump's statements and posted on online networks: "We must be absolutely clear: the ex-commander in chief is calling for the execution of elected officials."

He stated: "This is an outright THREAT. Every Senator, every Representative, the entire nation – irrespective of political affiliation – should denounce this immediately and unconditionally."

The Conservative official justified Trump's claim that the Democrats had engaged in "treason", labeling the video as "extremely improper", commenting: "This constitutes very dangerous, you have important representatives of the legislature advising soldiers to defy commands, I think that is unprecedented in US history."

The Conservative representative also according to sources informed journalists that in what he read of Trump's posts, Trump was "explaining the offense of rebellion" but that "lawyers have to examine the wording and establish all that."

Administration Reaction

During a White House press conference on later that day, when inquired by a reporter, "Does the president want to kill elected officials?", the executive branch representative replied: "Absolutely not."

"We should understand about what the president is addressing," the spokesperson declared. "We see current representatives of the federal government who worked together to orchestrate a recorded statement to individuals of the national defense, to active duty service members advising them to defy the executive's lawful orders."

She added: "The purity of our military rests on the command structure, and if that chain of command is compromised, it can lead to fatalities, it can lead to disorder, and that's what these members of Congress ... are basically encouraging."