Members of Maine's congressional delegation accused President Trump of inflammatory and potentially dangerous comments directed at several Democratic members of Congress who called on members of the military to disobey illegal orders.
In the viral video, the six senators and House members from other states — all veterans or former intelligence officers — said military and intelligence personnel must refuse illegal or constitutional orders. Their statement came at a time when the Trump administration is deploying troops in American cities, blowing up non-military targets in the Caribbean and is massing forces off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump responded by calling for the lawmakers' arrest and posting that seditious behavior is "punishable by DEATH." Trump also promoted messages posted by others that called for lawmakers to be executed.
"This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
All four members of Maine's delegation — consisting of two Democrats, a Republican and an independent — criticized the president's response to the video.
"The president's response to this statement by these veterans and members of Congress is truly shocking and goes to the depth of his contempt for the law and our constitution," Sen. Angus King, an independent, said in a statement. "All these people said was common knowledge and that is military officers are not required to follow illegal orders. That is simply a statement of fact just like the sun rises in the east."
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a Marine Corps veteran who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in an interview that all military personnel know these laws. He said what the lawmakers' said is "absolutely technically correct" and that Trump is wrong.
Golden said the Uniform Code of Military Justice clearly spells out a member's duty to obey lawful orders but also to disobey illegal or unconstitutional orders. At the same time, the law allows a presumption of innocence for someone who carries out an unlawful order because the blame is laid on the person who issued the order.
"In regards to politicizing the military, I think that's wrong and dangerous," Golden said. "And in regard to any violent statements made by any public official that might seem to incite violence or indicate a threat, that is clearly wrong."
Golden recently announced that he will not run for another term representing Maine's 2nd Congressional District in part because of the hyper-polarization in DC and recent incidences of political violence across the country.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins issued a statement saying: "The President should not be calling for the death of members of Congress because of what they say, regardless of how strongly he disagrees with their comments. Such incendiary comments risk sparking political violence.”
And Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree said in a post on social media that "the president of the United States believes he should be able to execute members of Congress" for advising military and intelligence personnel not to follow unlawful orders. She also asked "what other speech is he willing to criminalize" if he considers their video about the law as being treasonous.
"This is totally disgusting—and downright terrifying," Pingree said. "What happened to 'toning down the rhetoric'? Mind you, *all* of these members have military experience. They are rightfully alarmed that the Administration is directing our service members to commit violence against their fellow Americans. Those who serve our country took an oath to the Constitution, *not* Donald Trump."
The six members of Congress featured in the short video were: Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst; Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut; New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a former Navy reservist; Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Navy veteran; Colorado Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger; and Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer.
