The article recounts how President Trump accused several Democratic lawmakers of "seditious behavior" after they released a video advising service members they may refuse illegal orders, and reshared supporters' calls for hangings. Trey Gowdy defended the president, saying any punishment would follow a jury trial, while allies demanded prosecution. Legal experts counter that the video restates the law and does not meet the standard for sedition. The lawmakers condemned the rhetoric and vowed not to be intimidated.
Fox Host Defends Trump After He Calls for Punishment — Supporters Amplify Calls for Hangings
The article recounts how President Trump accused several Democratic lawmakers of "seditious behavior" after they released a video advising service members they may refuse illegal orders, and reshared supporters' calls for hangings. Trey Gowdy defended the president, saying any punishment would follow a jury trial, while allies demanded prosecution. Legal experts counter that the video restates the law and does not meet the standard for sedition. The lawmakers condemned the rhetoric and vowed not to be intimidated.
03:42 PM, 11/21/2025Politics
President Donald Trump posted a series of incendiary messages accusing several Democratic lawmakers of "seditious behavior" after they released a video telling service members and intelligence personnel they may refuse unlawful orders. The posts included language arguing the lawmakers should be arrested and punished, and the president reshared supporters' messages urging that those lawmakers be hanged.
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
On a televised discussion, Trey Gowdy — a former congressman now hosting a weekend program — defended the president’s remarks, suggesting Mr. Trump likely meant punishment only after a judicial process. “I’m sure he meant after a trial by your peers, a jury trial by your peers, and after you have been found guilty,” Gowdy said, while also calling the lawmakers’ video “stupid” and advising the president to ignore it.
Others in the president’s circle echoed calls for prosecution. An adviser to the president described the lawmakers’ message as deliberately inciting military personnel to defy lawful orders and urged that their actions be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Legal context
Under federal law, the crime of seditious conspiracy carries a maximum prison sentence for civilians of 20 years. While certain military offenses can carry harsher penalties, including in extreme historical cases capital punishment, constitutional law experts say the lawmakers’ video does not meet the legal standard for sedition.
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of a prominent law school, noted that the lawmakers were accurately stating established law — that service members must not follow unconstitutional or illegal orders — and that labeling such speech as sedition is unfounded and risks chilling legitimate criticism of government actions.
Response from lawmakers
The lawmakers who appeared in the video issued a joint statement condemning the president’s rhetoric and the calls for violence. In their statement they said:
“Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity. In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.”
The episode has intensified worries about incendiary political rhetoric and its potential to inspire violence. Legal scholars and civic leaders warned that equating policy disagreement or speech with sedition risks undermining democratic norms and the constitutional protections that enable open debate.