🔗 Share this article

Lawmakers from the Democratic party expressed fury after former President Donald Trump charged a contingent of Democratic representatives of being "traitors" and stated they should be detained and sentenced "through capital punishment" following their posting of a contentious video.

The Message That Sparked the Controversy

The video footage, released on earlier this week, includes six Democratic congress members who in the past worked in armed forces or security capacities.

"As we did, you all swore an vow to defend and support this founding document," the lawmakers affirmed in the brief video. "Currently, the threats to our constitution don't only come from overseas, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear, you can decline illegal orders, you can refuse improper directives, you must reject unlawful commands. No one has to follow commands that violate the law or our constitution."

The Former President's Angry Reaction

The video message appeared to provoke a heated reply from the previous commander-in-chief.

On Thursday morning, Trump wrote on his preferred platform: "This constitutes SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these turncoats to our United States should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL."

In an additional publication, he wrote: "This constitutes really concerning, and Risky to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to persist. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

In a additional post, he added: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" He also shared a comment that said: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

Party Officials Respond

Following Trump's comments on Thursday, Top Democrats published a joint announcement censuring the remarks.

"Political violence has no position in the United States," they wrote. "Elected officials who participated in the video all acted our country with exceptional national pride and excellence. We clearly condemn Donald Trump's disgusting and risky calls for execution against elected officials, and appeal to House Republicans to strongly do the same."

The Democratic leaders also mentioned that they had been in contact with law enforcement "to ensure the safety of these representatives and their relatives."

"Donald Trump must without delay delete these extreme digital publications and recant his dangerous rhetoric before he leads to violence," the statement added.

Lawmakers' Firm Reaction

The representatives who were featured in the video also issued a response.

"We identify as former service members and security experts who care for this United States and took an oath to defend and uphold the founding document of the United States," they declared. "That oath continues forever, and we plan to maintain it. No intimidation, pressure, or call for violence will deter us from that fundamental duty."

"The significant point is that the ex-president views it liable to punishment by execution for us to repeat the law," they stated. "Armed forces members should recognize that we have their support as they execute their oath to the constitution and responsibility to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our obligation."

They stated: "The entire nation must join forces and censure the former president's demands for our execution and ideological conflict. This is a time for ethical certainty."

More Political Reactions

The Senate Democratic leader also denounced Trump's comments and published on digital platforms: "It's important to understand: the ex-commander in chief is calling for the death of government members."

He added: "This represents an clear THREAT. Every Senator, each house member, every American – irrespective of political affiliation – should condemn this immediately and without qualification."

The Conservative official supported Trump's allegation that the Democrats had engaged in "treason", describing the video as "extremely improper", stating: "This constitutes very risky, you have prominent officials of the legislature advising troops to disobey orders, I think that is without precedent in American history."

The Conservative representative also allegedly told media outlets that in what he read of Trump's messages, Trump was "describing the crime of treason" but that "lawyers have to analyze the terminology and establish all that."

Executive Branch Reaction

During a administration briefing on that day, when inquired by a reporter, "Does the president want to execute elected officials?", the White House press secretary replied: "Certainly not."

"Let's be clear about what the ex-commander in chief is addressing," the official stated. "We see current representatives of the US Congress who coordinated to orchestrate a video message to members of the national defense, to current military personnel encouraging them to ignore the commander in chief's legal commands."

She said: "The purity of our defense system relies on the command structure, and if that chain of command is broken, it can cause fatalities, it can result in chaos, and that's what these elected officials ... are essentially promoting."