US President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday at a group of Democratic lawmakers who released a video encouraging American service members to refuse any orders from his administration that violate the law or the Constitution.

The initiative, published under the title "Don’t Give Up the Ship," features six lawmakers with military or national-security backgrounds, Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, along with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow.

In the video, they argue that the military’s oath is to the Constitution rather than to any individual president, insisting that service members are obligated to reject directives that fall outside legal bounds. "Our laws are clear - you can refuse illegal orders, you can refuse illegal orders, you must refuse illegal orders." They added, "No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution."

SHOCKING: Democrats Call For An Insurrection Against Trump

"You can refuse illegal orders.... No one has to carry out orders that violate the law... or our Constitution." pic.twitter.com/JVhNhBEjDs

— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) November 19, 2025

The lawmakers did not mention Trump by name, but their message was widely interpreted as a warning aimed at his administration, particularly amid renewed concerns about presidential overreach and the potential misuse of the military in domestic affairs.

Senator Slotkin later raised those concerns by pointing to reports that Trump had previously instructed the 82nd Airborne Division to shoot protesters in the legs during the nationwide demonstrations against police brutality in 2020, describing this as an example of an order that would be unlawful.

Trump responded with fury on his Truth Social account, branding the lawmakers’ message as "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

In a subsequent post later the same day, he escalated further, writing, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" His comments marked one of the clearest instances of a sitting president accusing elected members of Congress of sedition — a charge that, in US law, applies to conspiracies involving the use of force and does not carry the death penalty for speech of this nature.

Escalating Civil Tensions

Trump’s remarks were amplified by several of his allies in conservative media and within the administration, who claimed that the video encouraged “mutiny” or “insubordination” within the ranks. Critics, however, noted that the lawmakers’ message is consistent with long-standing military doctrine: under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, US troops are required to follow only lawful orders.

Directives considered unlawful are those that command criminal acts or breach the Constitution, federal statutes, or international legal obligations. Legal scholars say that this principle, stemming from post-World War II jurisprudence, obliges service members to refuse orders that would constitute abuses of power.

The episode has intensified an already fraught debate over civil-military relations, the scope of presidential authority, and the limits of political speech, with analysts warning that Trump’s calls for imprisonment and even execution of sitting lawmakers represent a dramatic escalation in rhetoric at a time of heightened institutional tension.

Read more: Poll reveals sharp American voter shift toward Democrats for 2026