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Lawmakers from the Democratic party expressed outrage after the ex-president accused a group of Democratic legislators of being "turncoats" and declared they should be taken into custody and penalized "through capital punishment" following their release of a controversial video.

The Message That Provoked the Debate

The video footage, published on earlier this week, includes six Democratic congress members who formerly served in military or intelligence roles.

"Similar to us, you all made an oath to safeguard and support this national charter," the lawmakers affirmed in the 90-second video. "Currently, the dangers to our democratic foundation don't only come from foreign nations, but from domestically. Our regulations are explicit, you can refuse improper directives, you can decline illegal orders, you should reject illegal orders. No one has to follow commands that contravene the statutes or our constitution."

Trump's Furious Reaction

The clip appeared to provoke a heated reply from the former president.

On later in the week, Trump wrote on his preferred platform: "It's called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these betrayers to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL."

In another publication, he wrote: "This represents really bad, and Risky to our Country. Their statements cannot be allowed to persist. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

In a additional publication, he added: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, subject to punishment by DEATH!" He also shared a declaration that said: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

Opposition Officials Respond

Following Trump's remarks on Thursday, Democratic leadership issued a unified declaration condemning the comments.

"Violent politics has no role in the United States," they declared. "Congress members who were featured in the video all worked our United States with tremendous national pride and honor. We unequivocally censure Donald Trump's offensive and risky threats of violence against elected officials, and call on GOP representatives to vigorously do the same."

The Democratic leaders also stated that they had been in touch with law enforcement "to ensure the safety of these representatives and their relatives."

"Donald Trump must right away remove these extreme social media posts and withdraw his violent rhetoric before he leads to violence," the announcement stated.

Representatives' Defiant Response

The lawmakers who participated in the video also issued a statement.

"We are former service members and defense specialists who value this nation and took an vow to defend and defend the founding document of the United States," they declared. "That oath is permanent, and we plan to maintain it. No threat, intimidation, or promotion of aggression will stop us from that important responsibility."

"The most revealing aspect is that the president deems it liable to punishment by capital punishment for us to repeat the legal requirements," they continued. "Our service members should recognize that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the constitution and duty to adhere to only proper directives. It is not only the proper thing to do, but also our duty."

They stated: "Every American must come together and condemn the ex-president's requests for our death and partisan aggression. This is a time for principled stance."

Further Partisan Reactions

The Democratic Senate minority leader also denounced Trump's remarks and shared on social media: "We must be absolutely clear: the former president is demanding the death of government members."

He continued: "This constitutes an clear THREAT. Each congressional member, all representatives, every American – irrespective of political affiliation – should condemn this right away and without qualification."

The Conservative official justified Trump's assertion that the Democrats had been involved in "rebellion", characterizing the video as "wildly inappropriate", commenting: "It is very risky, you have prominent officials of the legislature advising military personnel to ignore directives, I think that is unprecedented in the nation's past."

The Republican leader also allegedly told journalists that in what he read of Trump's publications, Trump was "explaining the offense of treason" but that "attorneys have to parse the terminology and determine all that."

White House Statement

During a executive branch meeting on Thursday afternoon, when asked by a journalist, "Does the president want to put to death members of Congress?", the White House press secretary answered: "Absolutely not."

"Let's be clear about what the ex-commander in chief is reacting to," the spokesperson declared. "There are current representatives of the US Congress who worked together to arrange a video message to individuals of the national defense, to current military personnel encouraging them to disobey the commander in chief's proper directives."

She stated: "The purity of our armed forces rests on the chain of command, and if that structure is violated, it can result in people getting killed, it can result in disorder, and precisely what these congressional representatives ... are fundamentally encouraging."