Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are condemning President Donald Trump for accusing half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition, “punishable by DEATH,” with Sen. Ed Markey trying to fundraise off the “dangerous” rhetoric.
The delegation is sounding off on Trump for making “threats” on social media in response to the group of Democrats – all six of whom are veterans of the armed services and intelligence community – calling on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”
The president on Thursday reposted an article about a video of the lawmakers speaking directly to U.S. service members, whom Michigan Sen. Elise Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
Trump, in his Truth Social post, described the Democrats’ commentary as “really bad, and dangerous to our country.”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!!” the president stated. “LOCK THEM UP???” He also called for the lawmakers to be arrested and put on trial, adding in a separate post that it was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.”
Trump also reposted dozens of posts on Truth Social, including ones that said “Insurrection. TREASON!” and “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a news briefing Thursday that the Democratic lawmakers shouldn’t be executed for sedition.
When asked if Trump meant that the Democratic lawmakers who are military veterans behind the video should be killed, Leavitt said, “No.”
It didn’t take long for members of the Massachusetts delegation to chime in, with Markey sending an email through his campaign seeking donations. He made a mention of January 6th and said that Trump voters are “turning on” the president for his “involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.”
“Our progressive movement will not be deterred by threats,” Markey stated. “We will not bend the knee to Trump, even as he threatens the very lives of our colleagues. If you’re with me, please:
“Make a contribution today to power our movement to topple Trump’s authoritarian administration and stand up against anything they throw our way,” the 79-year-old senator, seeking re-election, added. “These threats are meant to make us give up — we will not.
The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Slotkin’s X account.
In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — say the Trump administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens. They call for service members “refuse illegal orders” and “stand up for our laws.”
Although the lawmakers didn’t mention specific circumstances in the video, its release comes as the Trump administration continues its attempts to deploy National Guard troops into U.S. cities to crack down on crime.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not believe Trump was calling for violence in the social media posts, saying Trump was merely “defining a crime,” and calling the Democrats’ video “wildly inappropriate.”
“Think of the threat that is to our national security and what it means for our institution,” Johnson added.
Massachusetts Democrats Lori Trahan, Seth Moulton, Richard Neal, Jim McGovern and House Minority Whip Katherine Clarke all sounded off against Trump in respective social media posts.
“These are the actions of an unstable man who has shown no respect for the servicemembers and veterans who volunteered to risk their lives to protect our fundamental rights,” Trahan stated, “including our freedom of speech and open disagreement.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
