Several Democratic lawmakers sought police action Friday over social media posts by President Donald Trump, in which he said they should be arrested and potentially punished by death for encouraging the U.S. military to disobey illegal orders.
At least two lawmakers, Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colorado) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania), have requested that U.S. Capitol Police investigate “intimidating, threatening, and concerning” posts made by Trump on his Truth Social platform, according to a copy of a letter sent from Crow’s office to police Thursday and obtained by The Washington Post. Axios first reported the request.
Deluzio spokeswoman Zoe Bluffstone confirmed Friday that his office also reported the posts to Capitol Police using the same language as in the letter from Crow’s office.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania) also said Friday that her office had filed a complaint about a threat from the president with Capitol Police. Her office did not confirm if she had also explicitly requested an investigation.
Trump’s social media posts came Thursday in response to a video released Tuesday of six Congress members with military or intelligence experience, who cautioned that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.” The lawmakers urged members of the U.S. military and intelligence communities to disobey any illegal orders they receive.
The video did not specify which orders concerned the lawmakers, but some representatives have said they are hearing from service members questioning the legality of strikes that have targeted people the Trump administration alleges are trafficking narcotics by sea.
Traditionally, the U.S. military adheres to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which holds that service members must obey lawful orders, whether they agree with them or not. They are obligated to not follow “manifestly unlawful orders,” but such situations are rare and legally fraught.
The message in the video appeared to rattle a president who is known for seeking retribution against his perceived foes and who has successfully lobbied for federal investigations of their conduct, upending enduring norms that insulate federal law enforcement from political influence.
“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 wrote in response to the video. “Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
Trump later added that the behavior was “punishable by DEATH!” and reshared a post proclaiming: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
Houlahan, a former Air Force officer, explained her rationale for filing a complaint during an appearance Friday on the “The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent” podcast.
“There’s a threat line you can email. You have to identify who it is, if you know, what they said if you have it,” Houlahan said, explaining the process. “I don’t know how else to describe that other than a threat to my safety.”
Crow, a former Army Ranger, wrote in his letter to Capitol Police that, since Trump’s posts, congressional offices of the Democrats in the video had seen “a significant uptick in calls and emails with violent rhetoric and additional threats.” On Friday, he posted audio of some of the vulgar threats they had received.
Representatives of the Capitol Police and for the other lawmakers involved did not immediately return requests for comment Friday.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) told reporters Thursday that he had alerted Capitol Police to the potential for threats against the makers of the video, which was organized by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Michigan), a former CIA analyst, and also featured Sen. Mark Kelly (Arizona), a Navy veteran; Rep. Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire), a former Navy reservist.
In an interview Friday on the “Brian Kilmeade Show,” Trump denied he was threatening the lawmakers, but maintained that they had broken the law and continued to talk about sedition.
“I’m not threatening them, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, they would have [been] dead,” Trump said. “That was seditious behavior. That was a big deal. Today, you know, nothing’s a big deal. Today’s a different world. It’s a softer — it’s a meeker, milder world.”
In reference to questions Friday about Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to seek police action, the White House pointed to Trump’s interview with Kilmeade.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump was not suggesting violence against the makers of the video.
“These members knew what they were doing,” Leavitt added, calling the message they were sending “very dangerous” and perhaps punishable by law.
“I’m not a lawyer. I’ll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide,” she said, using the Trump administration’s term for the rebranded Department of Defense. She went on to say that “every single order that is given to this United States military by this commander in chief and through this command chain of command, through the Secretary of War, is lawful.”
The Pentagon did not respond Thursday morning to questions about the president’s post.
Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
The post Democrats seek police action on Trump’s ‘threatening’ social media posts appeared first on Washington Post.
