Congressional Democratic leaders warned Thursday that President Donald Trump's posts accusing several Democrat senators of sedition, "Punishable by DEATH," would encourage political violence against lawmakers.
Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that six congressional Democrats featured in a viral video calling on members of the military and intelligence community to refuse to carry out "illegal" orders from higher-ups was "really bad, and Dangerous to our Country."
"Their words cannot be allowed to stand," Trump said. "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT."
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He later posted, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and reposted a user who wrote "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor that Trump was explicitly calling "for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat, and it's deadly serious."
"Every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely," Schumer said.
"When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen," he continued. "He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline."
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And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a joint statement with his House Democratic leadership team, condemned Trump’s "disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress" and urged House Republicans to follow suit.
"We have been in contact with the House Sergeant-at-Arms and the United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of these Members and their families," Jeffries said. "Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed."
Trump’s posts, and the response from Congress’ top Democrats, come after a video featuring Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., went viral for calling on military service members to refuse to follow unlawful orders.
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The lawmakers said in a joint statement that, "What’s most telling is that the president considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law."
"Our service members should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders," they said. "It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty."
Republicans and members of the Trump administration pounced on the video, with some demanding that the lawmakers provide specifics.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who wrote letters to all six lawmakers asking specifically what unlawful orders were being made, said that he thought it was, "Despicable," what the group did in their video, but acknowledged that Trump's reaction was "over the top."
Still, he wanted answers from the cohort of Democrats.
"What is an unlawful order, what the f--- is it? What have we done," Graham said.
When asked if Trump wanted to execute members of Congress, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, "No."
She argued that Trump was directly responding to the lawmakers' call to encourage service members to "defy the president's lawful orders."
"The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command, and if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed, it can lead to chaos, and that’s what these members of Congress, who swore an oath to abide by the Constitution, are essentially encouraging," Leavitt said.
The video came on the heels of rising questions among lawmakers about the legality of President Donald Trump’s authorization of strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and in the wake of the administration’s deployment of the National Guard to blue cities across the country.
It also follows an uptick in political violence in the country over the last few years, notably two attempted assassinations against Trump, the assassination of Charlie Kirk and a dramatic increase in threats against members of Congress.
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