Trump accuses Slotkin, other Democrats of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Michigan U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and other Democratic lawmakers to be arrested and possibly executed over their remarks in a recent video urging members of the U.S. military and intelligence community to refuse unspecified illegal orders.

In a remarkable message on social media, Trump declared the message "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" in response to a news report about the video featuring Slotkin and other Democratic members of Congress who have served in the military or as intelligence officers.

The lawmakers in the video this week said federal law is clear that "no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution," and urged military and intelligence officers: "Don't give up the ship."

"It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL," Trump wrote on social media. "Their words cannot be allowed to stand - We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET."

The second-term Republican president followed up with other posts about the Democratic lawmakers: "This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

Trump also shared another person's message on his Truth Social account that called for the lawmakers to be hanged: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., railed against Trump's language toward the lawmakers on the Senate floor Thursday, saying the president's language "is an outright threat, and it's deadly serious."

"When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen," Schumer said.

Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, had posted the video recording of Democratic veterans in Congress on Tuesday. In it, she and five other lawmakers contended that the Trump administration is pitting the uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against U.S. citizens.

"The threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear," the lawmakers say, taking turns to deliver the message. "You can refuse illegal orders. ... No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution."

Slotkin and the other lawmakers issued a joint statement Thursday responding to Trump that said Americans should condemn Trump's "calls for our murder and political violence."

“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law," the lawmakers said.

"Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty."

The other Democrats are Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.

Trump's spokeswoman defends comments

House Democratic leaders said Wednesday that they notified U.S. Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to ensure the lawmakers' safety, following Trump's "unhinged" posts, which they urged the president to delete "before he gets someone killed."

In response to a reporter's question at the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president does not want to execute members of Congress. Leavitt said he was responding to a "radical" message from members of Congress that could "inspire chaos, and it could incite violence, and it certainly could disrupt the chain of command."

Leavitt claimed the group of lawmakers was encouraging service members “to defy the president's lawful orders," but they instead said “you can refuse illegal orders” and “you must refuse illegal orders.”

"That is a very, very dangerous message, and it perhaps is punishable by law. I'm not a lawyer. I'll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide," Leavitt said during a Thursday White House press briefing.

Leavitt went on to defend the administration’s record on following the law.

"They're suggesting ... that the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. Every single order that is given to this United States military by this commander in chief, and through this chain of command through the Secretary of War, is lawful," she added.

"We do things by the book, and to suggest and encourage that active-duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do. And they should be held accountable, and that's what the president wants to see."

Slotkin on Wednesday had acknowledged the furor and "controversy" over the Democrats' video. She suggested the best way for the administration to respond would be for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to testify about the domestic deployments of U.S. troops in American cities.

"They are trying to wield fear to get us to stop talking about this issue," Slotkin said. "They don't want to be talking about the ... deployment of federal law enforcement in our streets ... because they know it goes to the heart of who we are as Americans, as a democracy."

What Slotkin has criticized

Michigan Republican Rep. John James, an Iraq veteran who served with Slotkin in the House, disparaged the video and said it would "shred the chain of command and kill combat effectiveness" by suggesting troops should disobey Trump.

"My Democratic colleagues just wrapped themselves in the flag to tell troops and the intelligence community to disobey any future order they personally label unlawful. Because they didn't name a single example," James said on social media. "No specifics, just vibes."

Slotkin and the other Democrats in the video don't specify what illegal orders they're referring to; however, Slotkin, as a senator and a member of the House, has criticized the deployment of federal law enforcement officers and active-duty U.S. troops in American cities in a way that would scare citizens.

This year, she also questioned nominees, including Hegseth, about whether U.S. presidents can issue illegal orders and whether they would follow them, including an order to shoot unarmed protesters in the legs — a reference to Trump's first term and Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington, D.C.

Slotkin, a former CIA officer, was a top Pentagon official during Barack Obama's Democratic administration. She stressed during Hegseth's confirmation hearing in January that she was concerned about a president misusing the military in a way that "further taints" its reputation as an apolitical institution or in a way that could make American citizens fear their military.

"Are you saying that you would stand in the breach and push back if you were given an illegal order?" Slotkin asked Hegseth.

"I reject the premise that President Trump will be giving any illegal orders at all," Hegseth replied.

Slotkin pressed Hegseth during the hearing on whether he had been involved in discussions of using the active-duty military inside the United States, including setting up immigrant detention camps or policing cities.

She specifically asked Hegseth about whether he would deploy the active-duty Army's 82nd Airborne Division in law enforcement roles in Washington, D.C.

Slotkin said she asked about the 82nd Airborne because, during Trump's first term in the White House, he asked for that force to be deployed in response to Black Lives Matter protesters near the White House in 2020. Trump's then-defense secretary, Mark Esper, has written that he convinced Trump against that decision, the Democratic senator noted.

She has separately condemned Trump's "secret war" in Latin America against groups suspected of carrying drugs, saying it's unprecedented for the United States to wage an armed conflict against unnamed adversaries and warned that Trump's enemies at home could be next.

Slotkin, in a speech last month, said she's concerned that Trump plans to use lethal force and the power of the federal government to target his enemies at home or groups declared to be domestic terrorists inside the U.S., pointing to an executive order on domestic terrorism that Trump issued in September.

Slotkin said she believes Trump would do this to ensure he and his allies never have to give up power.

She said, in theory, people on this secret enemies list could be wiretapped, their homes could be searched, or they could be arrested for disagreeing with Trump's agenda. She pointed to his creation of two "weaponization" working groups ― including members of the intelligence community ― to go after Trump's perceived enemies.

She warned in the speech at the Brookings Institution that the next move out of the "authoritarian playbook" would see Trump invoking the Insurrection Act and trying to impose martial law, potentially allowing for elections to be canceled.

"Congress needs to reclaim our power, like, yesterday over the use of force," Slotkin said. "We need to start pushing back where we don't agree on how force is being used."

_____