Trump called for the Democratic lawmakers to be “arrested and placed on trial” in social media posts because of their video message.
President Donald Trump on Thursday, Nov. 20, accused six Democratic-lawmakers of “seditious behavior,” calling for them to “be arrested and put on trial” for behavior that, he said, could be “punishable by death.”
All because of a video they made earlier in the week and distributed widely telling military and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders.” Which is the law.
The lawmakers, all of whom are veterans or had worked in the CIA did not urge any illegal actions. They include Democratic Senators Elissa Slotkin, of Michigan and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and House of Representatives members Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Jason Crow of Colorado.
In response to their video, Trump responded on social network:
“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,” the president wrote in one Truth Social post Thursday morning, linking to an article about the video from the Washington Examiner.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump wrote in another post.
In a third, he wrote: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Trump also reposted multiple posts from other Truth Social users about the video, including one that said, “Hang them George Washington would.” The president 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.
In their video, the Democratic lawmakers tell military members:
“We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. Americans trust their military but that trust is at risk.”
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” they added. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
The video, posted to Facebook, also says “right now the threats of our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but right here at home.” They added: “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
Then later the White House walked back some of the very worst words that had ever come out of Trump’s head. Arrest, convict and execute Democratic Congressmembers. No where in our modern history has a sitting president uttered such incredibly damning and dangerous words.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump does not actually want to see members of Congress executed despite his social media post earlier in the day, calling a video by some members “seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH!”
Asked during the daily White House briefing if he wanted execute members of Congress, Leavitt said: “No.”
“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 lawmakers issued a joint statement to Trump’s response, 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.”
Trump hadn’t deleted the social media posts as of Friday afternoon.
Media sources:
Sanctity of our military?
Trump is a moron.
This administration is a giant clusterfuck of a kakistocracy of a clown car. Jesustits, what a pack of fuck ups. How the hell did we get here?
Fucking fascists
I need another shot of whiskey in my morning coffee.
I hear Tullamore D.E.W is a good whiskey for Irish coffee, tho I’ve never tried it yet.
[Editor: video with extreme rightwing talking points was deleted] It shows how ignorant even some service members are of what happened at the Nuremburg Trials, where people were prosecuted for following orders. I learned about this in elementary school. Apparently it isn’t taught in schools today? Or maybe some people just didn’t pay attention.
The Nuremburg Trials are not a good example. Those individuals on trial were prominent high ranking nazi officials. Most were not in the actual military. The military members who were on trial were high ranking officers, not rank and file soldiers. The defendants were gleefully giving orders more than following.
The point of posting this (and I think you know this) is that having lawmakers publicly
tell members of the military they have the option not to follow “illegal” orders can have some unintended consequences, especially taking into account trusting new accessions. There are a lot of gray areas between what is or isn’t a legal order which can be made grayer when the order comes from the top filtering down to the E1.
Why did you encircle the word illegal in quotes? That’s the whole point of the ORIGINAL video — not the one you posted, since deleted — illegal orders are not in quotes. Trump and his sycophants – like the guy in the deleted video – only interpreted the whole thing as saying “orders” from Trump.
Because I was emphasizing that top lawmakers publicly making such statements can have overlooked and possible unintended consequences. Mainly in terms of mid or lower ranking service members taking it upon themselves to decipher what orders are lawful or unlawful. What is or is not isn’t always clear or black and white. That’s why I posted the video you removed. Posting that clip doesn’t mean I agree with the personal politics of those individuals (you know very well I don’t).
By prominent high ranking officials, not in the military, you mean Hegseth, Bondi and Noem, right? I am not talking about soldiers thrust into a situation where it is kill or be killed, but even a Lieutenant who gives an unlawful order can be prosecuted. Remember Calley? If he had not been pardoned, he may well have been prosecuted for his crimes.
” I am not talking about soldiers thrust into a situation where it is kill or be killed,”
I didn’t think you were.
Everyone remembers Calley. He absolutely should have been prosecuted and I’d go so far as to say so should of at least some of the men under him.
Thank you Chris, I appreciate your saying so.
Chris, my friend, please allow me to disagree. We want mid and low ranking service members to know what is legal and what is not. I would extend that to all service members, especially those who carry guns. We also want them to know that there will be consequences when laws are broken. We have failed in both respects. While officers are exposed to some of these concepts in O.C.S. and West Point, lower ranking service members are pretty much just told to obey orders. As for the consequences, Calley and his men are good examples. Many of them were charged, but Calley was the only one convicted. His sentence was then commuted. Those lawmakers who made the video telling troops not to obey illegal orders, are brave American patriots, standing up for our constitution and the rule of law, and they are putting themselves at risk to do it. I think they deserve our support.