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Lawmakers from the Democratic party expressed outrage after former President Donald Trump alleged a group of Democratic legislators of being "traitors" and stated they should be detained and penalized "through capital punishment" following their publication of a contentious video.

The Message That Sparked the Debate

The video footage, published on Tuesday, includes six Democratic elected officials who previously served in military or security capacities.

"As we did, you all took an pledge to safeguard and defend this national charter," the lawmakers declared in the brief video. "And right now, the dangers to our constitution don't only come from overseas, but from right here at home. Our statutes are explicit, you can decline improper directives, you can reject improper directives, you have to refuse illegal orders. No one has to execute directives that violate the statutes or our founding principles."

The Former President's Furious Reply

The clip seemed to prompt a furious response from the ex-president.

On Thursday morning, Trump published on his social media platform: "This represents SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our United States should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL."

In an additional message, he wrote: "This is really concerning, and Dangerous to our Country. Their statements cannot be enabled to remain. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

In a subsequent message, he stated: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" He also shared a declaration that stated: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

Democratic Officials React

Following Trump's comments on Thursday, House Democratic leader released a combined declaration censuring the remarks.

"Political violence has no role in America," they declared. "Elected officials who were featured in the video all acted our country with exceptional national pride and excellence. We strongly denounce Donald Trump's offensive and dangerous calls for execution against congressional representatives, and appeal to House Republicans to vigorously do the same."

The party representatives also mentioned that they had been in contact with protective services "to make certain the security of these officials and their families."

"Donald Trump must without delay delete these extreme digital publications and withdraw his aggressive language before he leads to violence," the statement continued.

Lawmakers' Strong Reaction

The representatives who were featured in the video also released a statement.

"We identify as veterans and security experts who value this nation and swore an pledge to defend and uphold the national charter of the United States," they declared. "Our pledge is permanent, and we plan to honor it. No warning, intimidation, or promotion of aggression will stop us from that important obligation."

"The significant point is that the former president deems it liable to punishment by execution for us to repeat the law," they continued. "Our service members should know that we have their protection as they fulfill their pledge to the constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty."

They continued: "Every American must unite and condemn the ex-president's calls for our death and political violence. This is a moment for ethical certainty."

Further Partisan Comments

The Senate Democratic leader also censured Trump's statements and posted on digital platforms: "It's important to understand: the former president is calling for the capital punishment of government members."

He continued: "This represents an direct THREAT. All senators, every Representative, all citizens – without partisan consideration – should denounce this immediately and without qualification."

The Conservative official defended Trump's allegation that the Democrats had participated in "sedition", characterizing the video as "wildly inappropriate", adding: "This represents very risky, you have prominent officials of Congress instructing military personnel to disobey orders, I think that is without precedent in the nation's past."

The Conservative representative also allegedly informed journalists that in what he examined of Trump's posts, Trump was "defining the offense of sedition" but that "legal experts have to parse the language and determine all that."

Administration Reaction

During a administration briefing on Thursday afternoon, when inquired by a reporter, "Would the president want to kill congressional representatives?", the executive branch representative responded: "Certainly not."

"We should understand about what the president is addressing," the representative said. "We see sitting members of the federal government who coordinated to arrange a digital communication to personnel of the US military, to current military personnel encouraging them to ignore the executive's lawful orders."

She stated: "The purity of our armed forces relies on the command structure, and if that system is broken, it can result in casualties, it can cause confusion, and that's what these elected officials ... are fundamentally promoting."