The premier news source for Snohomish County

Six Democratic congressional members—Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO06.), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ11), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA06), and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH02)—all of whom have military or intelligence backgrounds, released a video on Tuesday stating to U.S. service members that they have an obligation under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to refuse “unlawful orders,” sparking accusations of sedition from The Commander and Chief of the U.S. Military, President Donald J Trump.

Sen. Slotkin, a former CIA Middle East analyst on Shia militias in Iraq and the activities of Iran’s Quds Force, organized the effort and released the video on her X account on November 18—the same day as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House.

In the 90-second video, the six congressional members in the video allege that the Trump administration is “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens” without providing any examples to their claims. They also claim that threats to the constitution are coming from “right here at home.”

The six congressional members then plea to military personnel, “You can refuse illegal orders,” and “You must refuse illegal orders,” adding, “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

The video comes amid National Guard deployments throughout the U.S. to support public safety efforts, military escalation against Venezuela and Mexico with cartel drug boats being blown up in the Caribbean Sea, massive federal sector layoffs, Trump’s push to abolish Obamacare replacing it with tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts, revelations of mass insider trading by elected officials, and major shifts in U.S. monetary and trade policy.

President Trump responded forcefully on Truth Social labeling the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL” and calling the six Democrat lawmakers “traitors to our Country” who “should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL.”

President Trump in another post wrote with an embedded Washington Examiner article on the incident, “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT.”

Under U.S. law, sedition is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2384 as a conspiracy by two or more persons to overthrow the government, oppose its authority by force, or prevent the execution of laws by force. Penalties include fines, imprisonment up to 20 years, or both. For military personnel, 10 U.S.C. § 894 addresses mutiny or sedition, which can be punishable by death in extreme cases.

Reminding troops of their duty to refuse illegal orders does not inherently constitute sedition, however, no where in the video did the lawmakers state they are reminding members of the military of their oath but that they “can” or “must” “refuse illegal orders” coupled with perceived threats by the Trump administration against Americans.

President Trump, who has survived two assassination attempts, has been the recipient of Democrat lawmakers and their surrogates—some right here in Washington state—in various forms of opposition, often framed as “resistance” to his agenda.

The pre-2024 election “lawfare” against then-candidate Trump, in the form of indictments and disqualification attempts under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, largely collapsed following his 2024 landslide victory, post-inauguration resistance has shifted toward congressional tactics and calls for investigations into alleged abuses by his administration tying up the courts.

Democrat rhetoric since Trump’s November 2024 win has included warnings of him as a “threat to democracy,” with comparisons to Hitler and calls to resist policies they see as corrupt or anti-democratic calling these policies “unlawful” to condition a populus.

Senate Democrats have worked to stymie Trump’s priorities, such as blocking or delaying confirmations and funding bills. In a 42-day government shutdown upending the livelihoods of millions of Americans, Democrats resisted Republican demands, though they secured no major concessions.

The Democrat base has expressed anger at party leaders for perceived insufficient pushback, leading to the figures of Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Socialist Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Chris Murphy, and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), using aggressive rhetoric against Trump and conservatives in speeches and on social media.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA07), former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, launched “Resistance Labs” around March 2025 as a mobilization and organizing initiative to counter Trump administration policies. These labs, led by Jayapal, focus on organizational training to counter perceived democratic backsliding and authoritarianism through non-violent means with an aim to get participants “strike-ready and street-ready.”

Critics, including former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), have accused Jayapal of treason and sedition for her Resistance Labs efforts. However, non-violent organizing and advocacy typically do not meet this threshold unless it involves force or incitement to violence.

During a No Kings rally in October in Edmonds, progressive mega-donor Rick Steves lambasted President Trump, whom he portrayed as “the ultimate con artist” orchestrating a “coup from within.” Steves was joined by fellow Edmonds Senator Marko Liias, Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti, and Edmonds City Councilwoman Chris Eck.

Yet, Democrat leaders clutched their pearls expressing outrage at Trump’s retorts, specifically his repost from user P78, that stated, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” Hours later Trump posted, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Democrat lawmakers in lockstep, defended the video as a straightforward restatement of law.

In a joint statement in response to President Trump, the six congress members wrote:

“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.

“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.

“But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.

“In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.

“Don’t Give Up the Ship!”

Washington lawmakers chastised President Trump stating that he is “unwell,” his behavior is “completely unacceptable,” and accused the president of wanting them “dead.”

Governor Bob Ferguson, “The president is clearly unwell. As an American, I find it hard to believe that our president speaks in this way.”

Senator Patty Murray, “The President using his platform to lift up people calling for political violence is twisted, dangerous stuff. There is NO room in our democracy for political violence—and every single Senator should join me in saying Trump’s behavior is completely unacceptable.”

Rep. Jayapal, “This is the video that enraged Trump so much that he called for these Democratic lawmakers to be hanged. They served our country & now the President wants them dead because they said something he didn’t like. We can’t become numb to these disgusting calls for political violence.”

Senator Kelly, one of the Congressman in the video, “What Trump said this morning — that my colleagues and I should be put to death — is dangerous. We can disagree fiercely and say what we think without resorting to stoking violence. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that at every turn, Donald Trump looks for opportunities to divide us.”

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), the congressman that was escorted out of House Chamber during President Trump’s address earlier this year, announced Thursday that he is going to introduce new articles of impeachment against the president for “threats of violence against members of Congress.”

Even Alex Soros, chair of the Open Society Foundations and son of billionaire progressive mega-donor George Soros got in on some of the action posting: “This is how it happens: a president calls for his critics in Congress to be executed, and people try to wave it away. This is how democracies fall and open societies fracture. No patriot should accept this. No American should look away.”

Alex Soros must be having a case of amnesia given his father George Soros’s long history of destabilizing economies and regime changes that undermine sovereign governments and have killed thousands of people through civil wars.

In 1992, George Soros made $1 billion by shorting the British pounds through his Quantum Fund, forcing the UK out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. This devalued the pound, cost the UK Treasury £3.4 billion, and exacerbated a recession. Starting in 1996, Soros borrowed Thai baht and speculated against it, contributing to the collapse of the currency in July 1997. This triggered a regional contagion affecting Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and others, leading to massive devaluations, bankruptcies, and social unrest.

Again, pretty ironic from the son of a man who knows “how democracies fall.”

Conservatives, including Sec of War Pete Hegseth and Republican lawmakers like Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have condemned the video as encouraging treason and mutiny.

Sen. Graham, “To say that I am disturbed this video is an understatement. 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.”

Trump’s deputy attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, is calling for a probe and described the video as “propaganda” aimed at undermining the chain of command.

While right-wing extremist violence has reportedly declined in 2025, left-wing incidents are up, contributing to a permissive atmosphere for resentment ever since Donald J Trump was elected president.

With all the calls by members on both sides of the political aisle to tone down the “civil war” rhetoric after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, following Tuesday’s video and the response by the president, one has to ask if the proverbial gauntlet been dropped?

Or are these Democrat lawmakers—and others including some Republicans—concerned about an online conspiracy that said, “the military is the only option.”

There are rumors that that President Trump has all the dirt—from the Epstein files to undisclosed findings by DOGE and Space Force—to be disclosed to the public at the right time.

Was it just coincidence for a former CIA Middle East operative, now congresswoman, to release a video calling for U.S. military personnel to not follow orders from the Commander in Chief on the very same day Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the White House—the very same Crown Prince who led the 2017–2019 Saudi Arabian purge of prominent princes, ministers, and businessmen on allegations of money laundering, bribery, extortion, and taking advantage of public office for personal gain?

Mario Lotmore, Publisher of the Lynnwood Times

Author: Mario Lotmore