In a feverish flurry of social media posts and reposts Thursday morning, President Donald Trump expressed support for imprisoning and executing a group of Democratic lawmakers for what he termed “seditious behavior.”
The behavior in question? Urging U.S. military service members to defend the U.S. Constitution and disobey orders that violate the law.
In a post on his Truth Social page, Trump wrote that the lawmakers’ actions were “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” the president wrote in a separate post.
He also reposted a message from an anonymous user that stated: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
In a post on X, Stephen Miller, Trump’s homeland security advisor, wrote that “Democrat lawmakers are now openly calling for insurrection.”
House Democratic leaders denounced Trump’s posts in a statement, saying they contacted the Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to “ensure the safety of these Members and their families.”
“Political violence has no place in America,” they added. “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.”
Questioned by a reporter, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declined to renounce Trump’s online remarks and placed the blame on the Democrats themselves.
The president’s threatening messages came in response to a Nov. 18 video published on X in which Democratic lawmakers reminded service members that they had sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
The six lawmakers — Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Penn.), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) — all formerly served in the military or intelligence community.
“Right now, the threats to the Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” they said in the video. “Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders.”
Following Trump’s reaction online, the Democratic lawmakers put out a statement denouncing his comments, saying that “every American must unite and condemn the President’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,” they said.
The lawmakers released their video message at a moment when Trump has federalized national guard troops and deployed them to multiple Democratic-led cities. In a September address to top military leaders, the president urged them to prepare for war with an unspecified “enemy from within.”
But Trump is also facing a series of legal challenges that appear poised to derail his plans to use the military for policing.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a technical question about the wording of the law Trump has used for many of his domestic deployments. The court’s answer could make his actions illegal.
Meanwhile, a state judge in Tennessee temporarily halted the governor’s plans to deploy Guard troops to Memphis at Trump’s behest. And Washington D.C. is contesting the president’s ongoing occupation of the nation’s capital in court.
The Pentagon also may pull hundreds of federalized Guard troops from Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon — potentially a sign that the Trump administration understands it is losing the court battle.
Despite its history of threatening rhetoric, the Trump administration has frequently asserted that Democrats are, in fact, the violent ones. After the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September, Trump, Miller and Vice President JD Vance repeatedly claimed that the political left actively promoted the use of violence against its opponents and was solely responsible for recent high-profile attacks on lawmakers and political figures.
Trump’s social media posts also fit into a broader pattern in which administration officials publish menacing messages on social media — sometimes at the expense of their own goals.
As Democracy Docket reported in October, statements online by Trump and Justice Department officials could serve as evidence in court that charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) represent vindictive and selective prosecution.
This story has been updated to include new information.