Six Lawmakers Cited Military Law. Trump Called for Their Execution
The Gist:
Six lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds posted a video reminding troops they can refuse illegal orders—restating basic UCMJ law every service member learns. Trump called it “seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH” and demanded their arrest and trial. Even his allies called it “over the top.” The message to active-duty troops is clear: there’s no middle ground between absolute loyalty and being branded a traitor. Military law that’s protected service members since Nuremberg is now being framed as sedition.
If you’ve never served, here’s something most civilians don’t understand: the moment you raise your right hand and take the oath, you step outside the civilian legal system. You’re no longer governed primarily by the Constitution in your day-to-day duties—you’re under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
When I went through training, they made one thing clear: you must obey lawful orders, and you must refuse unlawful orders. Specifically, you must refuse orders that are manifestly illegal—meaning obviously unlawful on their face, such as orders to commit war crimes or violate the Constitution. It’s in the UCMJ, it’s part of military culture, and every service member learns it. Following an illegal order doesn’t get you off the hook—”I was just following orders” stopped being a defense at Nuremberg.
Article 92 of the UCMJ explicitly defines this:
“A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the laws of the United States, or lawful superior orders or for some other reason is beyond the authority of the official issuing it.”
The UCMJ also states clearly that while orders are presumed lawful, “This inference does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime.”
This isn’t a gray area. It’s not a matter of interpretation or personal conscience. It’s military law.
And it starts with the oath itself.
Here’s what enlisted service members swear:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
And here’s the officer oath:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Look at what’s different: enlisted personnel swear to obey the President’s orders. Officers don’t. And even for enlisted, that obedience comes with a qualifier—”according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” The Constitution comes first. Always.
Thursday morning, President Trump called this sedition punishable by death.
On Tuesday, six members of Congress—all with military or intelligence community backgrounds—posted a video reminding active-duty troops of this basic legal principle. Senators Mark Kelly (Navy) and Elissa Slotkin (CIA/DoD), and Representatives Jason Crow (Army Ranger), Chris Deluzio (Navy), Chrissy Houlahan (Air Force), and Maggie Goodlander (Navy Reserve) created a one-minute video titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship.”
Here’s what they actually said:
We want to speak directly to members of the military—and the Intelligence Community—who take risks each day to keep Americans safe.
We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk.
This administration is pitting our uniformed military and Intelligence Community professionals against American citizens like us.
You all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution.
Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.
Our laws are clear.
You can refuse illegal orders.
You must refuse illegal orders.
No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.
We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you’re serving in the CIA, the Army, our Navy, the Air Force—your vigilance is critical, and know that we have your back because now, more than ever, the American people need you.
We need you to stand up for our laws, our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.
They didn’t name specific orders or call for resistance to any particular policy. They restated what’s already in the UCMJ—what those of us who wore the uniform learned in training, and what everyone in the intelligence community knows is the law.
If this doesn’t rattle you – it should.
Not in a private conversation. Not in a moment of frustration. In multiple posts on Truth Social:
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
And in a follow-up post: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
He also reposted another user’s message: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
The White House press secretary later walked it back—no, he doesn’t actually want to execute members of Congress.
But here’s the thing: Trump’s claim was legally false. Under federal law, seditious conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 2384) carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for civilians—not death. The death penalty only applies to treason, or to military personnel convicted of mutiny or sedition under the UCMJ. These lawmakers are civilians. Even if what they said somehow met the legal definition of seditious conspiracy—which it doesn’t—the maximum penalty would be two decades in prison, not execution.
The message had already landed anyway.
Here’s what just got clarified for every veteran and active-duty service member in this country:
There is no middle ground. You’re either a loyalist who follows any order without question, or you’re a traitor. The legal framework that’s been military law since World War II—the one that explicitly protects service members who refuse unlawful orders—is now being framed as seditious behavior.
Even Trump’s allies struggled with this one. Senator Lindsey Graham, a military lawyer and one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, called the remarks “over the top.” Speaker Mike Johnson said he “wouldn’t have used those words,” though he still criticized the Democrats’ video as “wildly inappropriate.”
But the damage is done. The chilling effect is the point.
Why this matters:
These lawmakers didn’t encourage troops to disobey the Commander-in-Chief. They reminded them of their legal obligation under the UCMJ. The fact that this triggered calls for execution tells you everything about what’s being expected of the military going forward.
Troops are being put in an impossible position: follow the law you were trained to follow, or demonstrate absolute loyalty regardless of legality. There’s no room anymore for “I follow lawful orders per UCMJ.”
And for those of us who served? We swore to support and defend the Constitution—not a person, not a party, not a Commander-in-Chief. Right now, that oath is being tested in ways a lot of us didn’t see coming.
What happens next matters.
Does the base fracture over this, or does it rally around the idea that reminding troops of military law is treason? Do more Republicans break ranks, or does this become the new normal?
And critically: do active-duty service members now fear that following their legal training will be branded as sedition?
The answers will tell us whether we still have a military bound by law, or something else entirely.
Tbird is a Navy veteran and founder of HadIt.com, a veteran-to-veteran support community established in 1997.