HANG THEM: Trump promotes message calling for executing Democrats in Congress

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that Democratic veterans in Congress should be hanged for releasing a joint video urging U.S. military service members to disobey illegal orders from above.

In a series of unhinged posts on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump pushed a anonymous user message which read: “HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD DO IT!!” The message was in response to a news about the video released on Tuesday by six Democrats in the House and Senate, all with military or intelligence experience.

Social Truth

In another messageTrump himself called it “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” that members of Congress would release such a video.

“It’s called THIRSTY BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” wrote the president, in yet another message. “Each of these traitors to our country must be ARRESTED AND TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand: We will no longer have a country!!! An example MUST BE GIVEN. President DJT.”

In fact, U.S. military service members have the right and, in some cases, the duty to refuse illegal orders. All military members take an oath to the United States Constitution, not to a particular United States president or anyone else in the chain of command.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), one of six Democrats featured in the video, said Wednesday that the group made the video out of concern about possible future illegal orders from the president, as opposed to any specific orders that have already been given.

“Donald Trump has made a number of very disturbing comments and suggestions that would violate American law and put our military in a terrible position,” Crow, a former Army Ranger, said in an interview with News. “I don’t want to wait until that happens to remind our troops of this obligation, because then it will be too late.”

A service member may be punished by court-martial for not obey any legal order or regulation, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the basis for the conduct and legal procedures of the U.S. military justice system.

the us army 2024 manual for courts martial becomes more specific: it states that a military order is legal, “unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the laws of the United States, or lawful superior orders or is otherwise beyond the authority of the official issuing it.”

“This inference does not apply to a manifestly illegal order, such as one directing the commission of a crime,” the manual states. He continues elsewhere: “The legality of an order is a question of law to be determined by the military judge.”

When asked whether Trump encouraged political violence by calling for members of Congress to be killed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt bizarrely accused the six Democrats of being the ones inciting the violence.

“They are literally telling 1.3 million active duty service members to defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders,” he said at his Thursday press conference.

When a reporter corrected Leavitt by saying that Democrats were urging service members to defy illegal orders, not legal ones, the press secretary changed the subject and said Trump has not given illegal orders.

“Suggesting and encouraging active duty service members to defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do,” Leavitt said, again conflating defying an illegal order with a legal one.

via News

On Capitol Hill, top Democrats condemned Trump’s comments and urged everyone to take them seriously.

“Let’s be very clear: The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an absolute threat and it is deadly serious,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in remarks on the Senate floor.

“Every senator, every representative, every American, regardless of party, should condemn this immediately and unreservedly,” Schumer said. “Because if we don’t draw a line here, then there’s no line left to draw.”

House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement rejecting the president’s “disgusting and dangerous death threats against members of Congress” and called on House Republicans to do the same.

They said they also contacted the House Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure the safety of the six Democrats and their families.

“Donald Trump must immediately remove these unhinged social media posts and retract his violent rhetoric before he kills anyone,” read a statement from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (New York), Democratic Leader Katherine Clark (Massachusetts) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (California).

Some Democrats chastised Trump not only for threatening lawmakers but also for suggesting that service members swore an oath to him, not the Constitution.

“Calling for the execution of senators and members of Congress for reminding our troops is chilling behavior that we should expect from authoritarians like Orban or Putin, not the president of the United States,” Coons said. “Every one of my Republican colleagues must stand up and condemn this quickly.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was less measured in his response.

“The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. ‘HANG THEM,'” he posted,” Murphy wrote on social media. “If you’re an influential person in this country and you haven’t picked a side, maybe now is the time to pick a fucking side.”

“All Americans must unite and condemn the president’s calls for our murder and political violence.”

Later Thursday, the six Democrats who made the video that angered Trump issued a joint statement, reminding them that they, too, swore an oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution.

“That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to uphold it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation,” read the statement from Sens. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.), and Reps. Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (NH), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), and Crow.

“Most tellingly, the president believes it is punishable by death for us to rewrite the law. Our service members should know that we have their back as they uphold their oath to the Constitution and their obligation to follow only lawful orders,” they said.

“All Americans must unite and condemn the president’s calls for our murder and political violence,” the lawmakers added. “This is a moment of moral clarity. In these times, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and not be intimidated. Don’t abandon ship!”