US President Donald Trump has assailed Democratic politicians who told members of the US military they must refuse any illegal orders, calling them traitors who could face execution.
Mr Trump reposted an article about a video released on Tuesday by six Democratic politicians who served in the military or in the intelligence community.
"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" the Republican president wrote in a Truth Social post.
"This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country," Mr Trump wrote in an earlier post.
"Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"
The Democratic politicians include Senators Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran, and Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy veteran, as well as Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan.
In the video, the members of Congress directly address members of the US military and intelligence community, saying that the Trump administration was pitting those institutions against the American people and threatening tenets of the US Constitution.
"We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now," they said.
"Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders," said Mr Kelly.
The other politicians offered a similar refrain before Mr Slotkin concluded: "We need you to stand up for our laws, our Constitution. Don't give up the ship."
The Democratic politicians did not refer to any particular incident or scenario, and did not provide any examples of orders that they might consider illegal.
Watch: Democrats release video addressing military saying 'you can refuse illegal orders'
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don't give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
At a briefing this evening, the White House said Mr Trump does not want to execute members of Congress.
"No," said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt when asked about Mr Trump's remarks calling the Democratic politicians traitors who should face execution.
Some Democrats in Congress have been sharply critical of Mr Trump's military strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the southern Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on the legality and lack of transparency.
There have also been concerns that Mr Trump will launch an attack on Venezuela itself.
"Calling for the execution of senators and members of Congress for reminding our troops of that is chilling behaviour we should expect from authoritarians like (Hungarian leader Viktor) Orban or (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, not the president of the United States," US Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said in a statement.
"Every one of my Republican colleagues needs to stand up and swiftly condemn this."
Since returning to the presidency in January, Mr Trump has occasionally called for jailing people whom he sees as political enemies.
His Justice Department has initiated investigations into some of them.
In November 2021, Mr Trump defended the chants of his supporters who called for hanging Vice President Mike Pence as they stormed the US Capitol in a deadly riot on 6 January of that year.
