Trump says he wasn't threatening Democrats he accused of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s “not threatening death” toward a group of Democratic members of Congress whom he accused of committing “seditious behavior,” which he said a day earlier was “punishable by death.”

“In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death,” Trump said in an interview Friday on conservative Brian Kilmeade’s radio show when asked to clarify what he meant.

The president's latest remarks come after he lodged the accusation and warning Thursday after Democratic lawmakers, many of whom are veterans, released a video urging members of the military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who previously worked at the CIA and Defense Department, on Tuesday shared the video of herself and other former members of the military and intelligence community.

“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” they said. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

The other participants included Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Reps. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Jason Crow of Colorado.

Trump responded to their video message in multiple posts on Truth Social, including one where he said, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He also reposted other posts such as one that said, “Hang them George Washington would.”

The president denied that he threatened the members of Congress: “I think they’re in serious trouble. I would say they’re in serious trouble. I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, it was death. That was seditious behavior.”

Asked to respond to Trump's latest comments Friday, Slotkin's office referred to remarks she made Thursday night on MS NOW, saying that she received threats instantaneously and Capitol Police told her she'd be put on 24/7 security.

"We’ve got law enforcement out in front of my house," she said. "It changes things immediately. And leadership climate is set from the top. And if the president is saying you should be hanged, then we shouldn’t be surprised when folks on the ground are going to follow suit and say even worse."

Kelly, Crow, Deluzio, Houlahan and Goodlander didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment in response to Trump’s assertion Friday that he wasn’t threatening death.

Trump said that the lawmakers who appeared in the video “broke the law,” and added, “I can say if I ever said that and there were a Democrat as president, all hell would have broken loose. And it has broken loose.” The president said that he believes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is investigating the situation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the idea Thursday that the president was calling for members of Congress to be executed. “No,” she said when asked that question, later adding that the Democrats’ comments are “a very, very dangerous message and it perhaps is punishable by law. I’m not a lawyer. I’ll leave that to the Department of Justice and the Department of War to decide.”

Threats and violence against public officials have surged in recent years, including the two attempted assassinations of Trump while he was campaigning for president last year. A recent NBC News poll found that more than 6 in 10 registered voters said they thought “extreme political rhetoric” contributed in the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said Thursday he wouldn't have used the same language as Trump, was asked Friday about the rise in threats against people serving in elected office and whether Trump has a responsibility to tone down the heated rhetoric.

“I don’t think you can put the blame on the president for any of that,” Johnson told reporters. “The rhetoric is heated all the way around. We’ve had Democrats throughout this Congress who have in essence encouraged political violence against the president himself, against Republicans. I’ve been calling on people to turn down the rhetoric across the board, everywhere, throughout the institutions. It’s a dangerous time.”

Crow, who served in the Army, told reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday that he was receiving more threats since Trump’s posts. His office has formally requested that the U.S. Capitol Police investigate the president’s posts, referring to them as “intimidating, threatening, and concerning,” according to a copy of the email reviewed by NBC News.

“I write to report threats made by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, against Congressman Jason Crow,” Crow’s office begins the email, which outlined the Truth Social posts and said his offices have received “a significant uptick in calls and emails with violent rhetoric and additional threats.” Axios first reported the letter. Capitol Police doesn’t typically comment on potential investigations, but requesting a probe into the sitting president is a long shot.

“You know, when the president of the United States tweets out death threats and says the things that he says that, you know, that stirs things up a lot,” Crow said Friday. “But again, I’m not going to be incredibly intimidated, and certainly not going to change my approach.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who served in the Marines, told NBC News he has seen an uptick in online vitriol since the president's comments on sedition.

“Clearly the president knew exactly what he was doing, trying to turn his online digital mob against these members of Congress,” he said in an interview Friday, while in Chicago to talk to small businesses about the impact of recent immigration operations.

“The fact is that, what they’re [Democrats are] saying is very much what you do when you join the military. ... You should not follow any orders that are illegal, very simple," he added. "And the fact that he took it so personally tells you, tells me he just didn’t understand the military. He thinks that they’re his toy. They’re not there to protect the Constitution United States.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com