U.S. President Donald Trump calls for six Democrats to be jailed after a video urged military officers to refuse illegal orders, calling it “sedition.”
President Donald Trump on Saturday November 22, 2025, called for six Democratic lawmakers to be jailed after they appeared in a video urging U.S. military officers to refuse illegal orders. The move escalates tensions between the White House and Congress, with Trump labeling the lawmakers’ actions “sedition at the highest level.”
The video, posted Friday on social media, featured Senators and Representatives with military or intelligence backgrounds, including Arizona’s Mark Kelly, Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin, Colorado’s Jason Crow, Pennsylvania’s Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan. In the footage, the lawmakers reportedly encouraged service members to question orders they deemed unlawful, though they did not specify particular commands.
Writing on his Truth Social account late Saturday, Trump said: “THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK.” He added that “THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID.”
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Trump’s statement follows his Friday November 21, 2025, accusations that the lawmakers’ actions constituted seditious behavior, punishable under U.S. law. Democrats swiftly condemned the president’s comments, calling them “absolutely vile threats” against officials who have served in the military or intelligence community.
The controversy comes amid broader security actions by Trump’s administration. In recent weeks, he has deployed the National Guard to multiple U.S. cities, at times overruling local officials, citing concerns over civil unrest. Additionally, the president has authorized strikes on vessels alleged to be involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, operations that experts say may fall outside legal norms and which reportedly resulted in more than 80 deaths.
Trump has previously alluded to the death penalty in political contexts, heightening concern among lawmakers and observers about the language of his threats. The comments also evoke earlier controversies surrounding the U.S. military’s chain of command, including revelations in 2023 that former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley had contacted his Chinese counterpart after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots to reassure Beijing about U.S. stability.
The latest developments underscore deepening political polarization in the United States and the challenges of maintaining civilian-military boundaries, particularly as Congress and the presidency clash over interpretation of legal and constitutional limits.
