USA Liveblog under Trump: Trump on Mamdani: "I think he will surprise some conservatives"

After calls from Democratic members of Congress to disobey orders in certain cases, US President Donald Trump threatened the death penalty. The six Democrats are “Traitor,” Trump wrote on Thursdays on the online service Truth Social. He accused them of “seditious behavior punishable by death.”

The six members of Congress published an Internet video on Tuesday in which they called on active-duty soldiers or secret service agents to refuse “illegal orders.” The three women and three men were former military or secret service employees. “This administration is pitting our uniformed military officers and intelligence professionals against American citizens,” the video said. However, soldiers and security personnel are sworn to protect the US Constitution and therefore can refuse unlawful orders.

In interviews, members of Congress cited examples of the use of troops against demonstrators, as Trump ordered in Los Angeles, or the killing of suspected drug traffickers from Latin America. According to the UN, this is contrary to international law. The president’s deputy chief of staff in the White House, Stephen Miller, accused Democrats of “openly calling for a coup.”

The members of Congress are Senator Elissa Slotkin, who previously worked for the foreign intelligence agency CIA, and Senator Mark Kelly, a former Marine and an astronaut. Former military members Chris Deluzio, Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan, who served in the Navy and Air Force, are running for the House.