Trump Calls Six Democratic Lawmakers 'Seditious' and Says Offense Is 'Punishable by DEATH' — Bipartisan Outcry

President Trump ignited a political firestorm after posting on social media that six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse illegal orders should be arrested and tried for "seditious behavior." In a subsequent post, he wrote in all caps, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and reshared a comment saying, "HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!"

The posts came in response to a video that featured Sens. Mark Kelly (Arizona) and Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) and Reps. Jason Crow (Colorado), Chris Deluzio (Pennsylvania), Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania) and Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire). The lawmakers — many of whom are veterans or former national security officials — warned of threats to constitutional norms and urged service members and intelligence personnel to "refuse illegal orders."

"Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said from the Senate floor, calling the president's posts "an outright threat" that is "deadly serious."

Schumer said he had requested special Capitol Police protection for Sens. Slotkin and Kelly and urged all Americans, "regardless of party," to condemn the president's language "immediately and without qualification." He warned that tolerating such rhetoric risks normalizing violence: "If we don't draw a line here, there is no line left to draw."

The six lawmakers issued a joint statement arguing that the president's response shows he regards "restating the law" as deserving of death. "This isn't about any one of us," their statement said. "This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President's calls for our murder and political violence."

Sen. Slotkin posted a video response saying she would not be intimidated: "Threatening death for people you disagree with is beyond the pale of who we are as Americans. I refuse to be intimidated out of defending the country I love." Rep. Houlahan described the posts as a new and dangerous brand of political violence and retribution.

House Democratic leaders demanded that President Trump delete the posts and recant. In a joint statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said, "Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed." They also said they were coordinating with the House Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure members' safety.

House Speaker Mike Johnson initially declined to criticize the president's broader response to the lawmakers' video, saying it was "wildly inappropriate" for members to encourage military personnel to disobey orders and urging Congress to "raise the bar." Later, Johnson said "the words that the president chose are not the ones that I would use," adding he did not view the comments as crimes punishable by death and calling them "heated rhetoric."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the president was calling for executions and framed his posts as a reaction to the lawmakers' video. She argued the video encouraged active-duty servicemembers and national security personnel to defy lawful orders and stressed the importance of the military chain of command.

The episode has prompted sharp debate about political rhetoric, threats to elected officials, and the limits of public speech from a sitting president. Lawmakers on both sides face pressure to respond, and several have called for clear, unequivocal denunciation of language that could incite violence.