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Lawmakers from the Democratic party expressed fury after Donald Trump alleged a coalition of Democratic congress members of being "traitors" and stated they should be taken into custody and punished "by death" following their publication of a contentious video.

The Message That Provoked the Debate

The clip, published on earlier this week, features six Democratic elected officials who formerly worked in military or security capacities.

"Similar to us, you all took an vow to defend and defend this national charter," the officials declared in the brief video. "And right now, the risks to our governing document are not only from abroad, but from within our own country. Our laws are unambiguous, you can refuse illegal orders, you can reject unlawful commands, you should decline illegal orders. No one has to carry out directives that break the legal system or our national charter."

The Former President's Angry Response

The video message seemed to prompt a heated reply from the previous commander-in-chief.

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

In an additional post, he declared: "This is really bad, and Harmful to our Nation. Their words cannot be enabled to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???"

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

Party Leaders React

Following Trump's comments on that day, Top Democrats published a joint declaration condemning the remarks.

"Violent politics has no role in America," they stated. "Representatives who were featured in the video all worked our nation with tremendous patriotism and honor. We strongly condemn Donald Trump's appalling and dangerous death threats against members of Congress, and call on GOP representatives to strongly do the same."

The party representatives also stated that they had been in touch with security officials "to ensure the safety of these officials and their families."

"Donald Trump must right away remove these unhinged digital publications and recant his dangerous language before he leads to violence," the statement stated.

Officials' Strong Response

The officials who were featured in the video also issued a response.

"We identify as former service members and defense specialists who care for this nation and swore an pledge to safeguard and uphold the national charter of the United States," they stated. "This commitment continues forever, and we aim to keep it. No warning, coercion, or promotion of aggression will stop us from that fundamental duty."

"The most revealing aspect is that the former president deems it subject to penalty by death for us to repeat the law," they added. "Armed forces members should recognize that we have their support as they fulfill their pledge to the constitution and duty to adhere to only proper directives. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our obligation."

They stated: "The entire nation must come together and denounce the former president's calls for our murder and partisan aggression. This is a moment for principled stance."

More Partisan Comments

The Opposition leader also censured Trump's statements and posted on digital platforms: "We must be absolutely clear: the President of the United States is demanding the capital punishment of government members."

He stated: "This constitutes an outright THREAT. All senators, every Representative, every American – irrespective of political affiliation – should denounce this immediately and unconditionally."

The Conservative official justified Trump's assertion that the Democrats had participated in "rebellion", characterizing the video as "extremely improper", adding: "This constitutes very risky, you have prominent officials of the government instructing military personnel to ignore directives, I think that represents unprecedented in American history."

The Republican leader also reportedly stated to media outlets that in what he reviewed of Trump's messages, Trump was "defining the crime of rebellion" but that "legal experts have to parse the terminology and establish all that."

Administration Response

During a administration briefing on Thursday afternoon, when questioned by a media member, "Is the president want to kill members of Congress?", the administration spokesperson answered: "Absolutely not."

"Let's be clear about what the president is responding to," the spokesperson declared. "There are active officials of the federal government who worked together to organize a video message to members of the US military, to active duty service members advising them to defy the commander in chief's legal commands."

She said: "The integrity of our armed forces depends on the chain of command, and if that structure is compromised, it can lead to fatalities, it can lead to confusion, and that is exactly what these members of Congress ... are fundamentally encouraging."