President Donald Trump threatened senator and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly after he encouraged members of the military to ‘refuse illegal orders’.
This followed Trump's claim last week that Kelly, and the other Democratic lawmakers in the video had committed sedition – inciting an insurrection against the state – which the president said was punishable by death.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” lawmakers said in the video. “Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution.”
Kelly issued a statement in response, emphasising his ‘service to this country’.
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The Arizona Senator said: “Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
The latest news followed legal questions raised over the Trump administration carrying out military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in September, which killed at least 61 people.
Trump was evidently angered by the video shared by Democrats calling for service members and intelligence officials to disobey illegal orders The president described their message as ‘seditious behavior’ which was ‘punishable by death’.
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“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 posted on Truth Social. He also shared several other posts originally written by other users.
“HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” read one post that he re-shared on his platform.
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However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later rejected the idea that Trump was urging the execution of lawmakers, saying that members of Congress with national security experience should not encourage anyone to disobey directives from the administration.
"These members knew what they were doing. They were leaning into their credentials, as former members of our military, as veterans, as former members of the national security apparatus, to signal to people serving under this commander in chief, Donald Trump, that you can defy him and you can betray your oath of office,” Leavitt said, via CNN. “That is a very, very dangerous message. And it perhaps is punishable by law.”
The six Democratic lawmakers featured in the video released a joint statement, declaring that they ‘will not be intimated’.
“What’s most revealing is that the President believes it is a death-worthy offense for us to restate the law. Our service members deserve to know that we stand with them as they uphold their oath to the Constitution and their duty to follow only lawful orders. This is not only the right thing to do — it is our responsibility,” said Senators Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, and Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, and Chrissy Houlahan.
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“This isn’t about any one of us, nor is it about politics. It is about our identity as Americans. Every American must come together and denounce the President’s calls for our killing and for political violence. This moment requires moral clarity.”