Former President Donald Trump has provoked a major political firestorm by amplifying demands for the imprisonment and execution of six Democratic lawmakers, all military veterans, after they published a video urging service members to refuse unlawful commands.
Veterans' Video Sparks Presidential Fury
The controversy erupted when Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, alongside Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan - all with backgrounds spanning the CIA, Air Force, Army and Navy - released a direct address to military personnel. The lawmakers, appearing in uniform, emphasised that active service members have a duty to reject illegal orders that violate American law or constitutional principles.
'You must refuse illegal orders,' the bipartisan group of veterans stated unequivocally. 'No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.' While the video didn't specify what constituted unlawful commands, its timing coincided with increased US military activity in the Caribbean involving lethal strikes against suspected narco-terrorist vessels.
Trump's Explosive Social Media Response
The commander-in-chief's reaction was swift and severe. Trump spent his morning lambasting the Democratic veterans as 'traitors' across his Truth Social platform, with one post declaring their actions constituted 'seditious behavior, punishable by death!'
In a particularly inflammatory move, the former president shared another user's post calling for the lawmakers' execution, which stated: 'Hang them George Washington Would!' Trump reinforced this sentiment, writing: 'This is really bad, and dangerous to our country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand.'
Another presidential post demanded that 'each one of these traitors to our Country should be arrested and put on trial', warning that 'we won't have a country anymore!!! An example must be set.'
Democrats Defend Constitutional Position
The targeted lawmakers have stood firmly behind their message. Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger, explained to Fox News: 'We are standing by our troops, our service members who are often put in very difficult positions and Donald Trump has put them in very difficult positions.'
Crow emphasised they were simply reminding military personnel about existing legal frameworks, including the uniform code of military justice and constitutional law. He specifically cited concerns about Trump's deployment of National Guard units across the country as creating uncertainty among service members.
The Democratic pushback grew more personal when Senator Kelly, a Navy veteran, confronted Trump advisor Stephen Miller's characterization of their actions as insurrection. 'I got shot at serving our country in combat, and I was there when your boss sent a violent mob to attack the Capitol,' Kelly retorted. 'I know the difference between defending our Constitution and an insurrection, even if you don't.'
The confrontation represents one of the most serious constitutional crises in recent American history, pitting a former president against elected officials with distinguished military records over fundamental questions of military ethics and lawful command.
