Trump Calls Democrats 'Traitors,' Invokes Death Penalty After Video Urging Refusal of Illegal Orders

Overview

• Six Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, released a video telling U.S. troops and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders without specifying examples.
• President Trump responded on Truth Social by labeling the lawmakers "traitors," writing that "sedition" is "punishable by death" and asking "Arrest them???"
• The Democratic Party condemned the remarks as a call for the death of elected officials, and some Democratic lawmakers said they contacted the Capitol Police about safety.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the president does not want to execute members of Congress, as senior aides Stephen Miller and War Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked the video.
• Coverage situates the clash in disputes over National Guard deployments in U.S. cities and an overseas anti‑drug campaign that has killed more than 80 people since September, which critics say may violate the law.