Democratic vets in Congress warn about following unlawful military orders, which Trump calls seditious

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at six congressional Democrats who this week released a video to social media advising troops they can decline unlawful orders, branding it seditious behaviour.

The Democrats in the video served in the military or the intelligence community. They are: senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, as well as House members Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

"Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders," Kelly said in the video.

In the same video, Slotkin added: "We need you to stand up for our laws, our Constitution. Don't give up the ship."

While they don't specify which orders could be considered unlawful, it is a concern that Kelly, a former captain in the U.S. Navy, has raised for several weeks in interviews with reporters, in the wake of the series of deadly strikes the U.S. military has launched on boats in Caribbean and eastern Pacific waters that the administration alleges are carrying drugs.

The Department of Justice has reportedly offered the legal opinion that those involved in in the boat strikes cannot be prosecuted, but the statute of limitations in U.S. military jurisprudence can sometimes last years, or not at all for capital crimes .

The video has led to blowback from Republicans, culminating in Trump reacting on social media late Wednesday and into Thursday.

"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" he said in the latest Truth Social post on the matter.

"This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country," he posted the night before. "Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

Asked by a reporter at a Thursday briefing if Trump really meant that the Democratic lawmakers, who are military veterans, behind the video should be killed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "No."

"Every single order that is given to this United States military by this commander-in-chief and through this command chain of command, through the secretary of war, is lawful," said Leavitt, who added that defying orders could create national security risks and lead to deaths.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a former Judge Advocate General (JAG), was critical of his Democratic colleagues, albeit more measured.

"To say that I am disturbed this video is an understatement," he posted on X on Thursday morning. "As a former Air Force JAG, I take the issue of unlawful orders very seriously, and I cannot find a single example of an illegal order during this administration. To that end, I believe these Democrats owe it to the country to be specific about which orders they think are unlawful."

Since Sept. 2, at least 88 people have died in the boat strikes. Relatives of the small number of victims whose identities are known have balked at the characterization that they were drug traffickers. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has alleged that a Colombian citizen killed in September was a fisherman.