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US President Donald Trump has accused a group of Democratic lawmakers who served in military or intelligence roles of “seditious behaviour” over a video they made telling those currently serving that they must refuse illegal orders.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
Six Democrats on Capitol Hill, led by senator Elissa Slotkin, on Tuesday released a video saying that Americans’ trust in their military is at risk, accusing the Trump administration of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens”.
The Democrats told active-duty troops and those in the intelligence community that they “can” and “must refuse illegal orders”.
The video has sparked a fierce backlash from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth called the video “Stage 4 TDS”, referring to so-called Trump Derange Syndrome, in a post on X.