Updated November 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM CST
Congressional Democratic leaders are demanding President Trump delete social media posts directed at some Democratic veterans in Congress suggesting they be arrested and receive the death penalty for a video they released urging active military personnel to defy illegal orders.
In the video posted to Facebook on Tuesday, lawmakers address members of the military and intelligence communities and say, "You can refuse illegal orders," repeating the phrase several times before saying, "You must refuse illegal orders."
The video features Democratic members of the House and Senate — Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania; and Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
On Truth Social, Trump said the comments made in the video are "really bad, and dangerous to our country."
"Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???," Trump posted. An hour later, Trump shared another post, stating, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"
Trump also reposted a series of comments from users on Truth Social, including posts that said the Democrats should be hanged, the actions were an insurrection and they should all be indicted because of the video.
The lawmakers responded to the posts in a joint statement, saying in part, "We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation."
"Every American must unite and condemn the President's calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity," they said.
House Democratic leadership — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California — called for Trump to remove the posts and for Republicans to condemn them.
"We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump's disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress and call on House Republicans to forcefully do the same," they wrote.
"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," the statement adds. "Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed."
In the video posted to Facebook, the Democrats didn't call out any specific actions that military or intelligence officials have been told to carry out, but they said that the Trump administration is "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens." They added that military and intelligence personnel swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
"Right now the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but right here at home," they said. "No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution."
They ended the video by telling those in the military and intelligence officials, "Don't give up the ship," referring to the famous last words of James Lawrence, a Navy Captain during the war of 1812, to keep fighting and not surrender.
While Trump hasn't removed the posts, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on Thursday that Trump did not mean that members of Congress should be executed. She criticized the media for reporting on how Trump was responding but not what he was responding to.
Leavitt said the Democratic lawmakers were encouraging active duty military and intelligence officials to "defy the president's lawful orders" and that the call to disobey is a threat to national security and safety.
"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," she said. "And that's what these members of Congress who swore an oath to abide by the Constitution are essentially encouraging."
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