Lawmakers file police reports against Trump over ‘crime’ to have them ‘hanged’

Washington, D.C. –Three Democratic members of Congress have formally filed complaints with the U.S. Capitol Police after President Donald Trump reposted a call to hang them and declared their actions “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Chris DeLuzio (D-PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) contacted Capitol Police on Thursday and Friday to report the threats, which stemmed from a 90-second video the lawmakers released Tuesday reminding U.S. military personnel of their constitutional duty to disobey unlawful orders.

The video, also featuring Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), showed the six veterans in uniform delivering a calm, 30-word message.

“We served this country in uniform. We took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As veterans, we know what it means to follow lawful orders — and to refuse unlawful ones.”

Within hours, Trump erupted on Truth Social:

“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET. President DJT.”

He then amplified a supporter’s post screaming “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”

The consequences were swift and terrifying. Two of Rep. Houlahan’s district offices in Pennsylvania received credible bomb threats on Wednesday and Thursday. Houlahan’s office reported being “inundated with thousands” of phone calls and emails, many containing graphic death threats. Rep. Crow’s Denver office was briefly evacuated Thursday after a suspicious package was delivered. Rep. DeLuzio reported similar harassment, with staffers receiving calls threatening to “finish what January 6 started.”

Houlahan told The New Republic’s Greg Sargent on Friday:

“If that’s not a threat to violence I don’t know what is. Even if he for whatever reason didn’t mean it or doesn’t act on it, he’s just unleashed a lot of people who are not necessarily well on me and my team and my family, and that’s also a crime.”

Her office confirmed to Politico that the congresswoman is treating Trump’s post “no differently than all threats targeting Representative Houlahan” and has reported it to law enforcement.

The lawmakers’ video cited a bedrock principle of American military law enshrined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and upheld by the Supreme Court: service members have not just the right but the duty to refuse “patently illegal orders,” such as those directing war crimes or violations of the Constitution.

This principle traces back to the Nuremberg trials and was reaffirmed in U.S. military training and doctrine for decades. As Rep. Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, put it Thursday: “Our oath is to the Constitution, not to any one man. That’s what we swore, and that’s what we’re reminding troops of today.”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president during Friday’s briefing, insisting Trump was “highlighting the severity of undermining the chain of command” and that the Democrats’ video was the real incitement.

Only a handful of Republicans have criticized the rhetoric, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) tweeting: “Threatening to execute members of Congress for reminding troops of their constitutional duty is not normal. Period.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a “sedition review” of the six Democrats on Wednesday, citing possible violations of 18 U.S.C. § 2384. Legal experts called the move unprecedented against sitting members of Congress for protected speech.

The Capitol Police and FBI are reportedly coordinating on the bomb threats and harassment campaign, with sources telling CNN the volume of threats “far exceeds” what followed Trump’s previous inflammatory posts.

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As of Saturday morning, the original video has been viewed millions of times, and the hashtag #OathNotMan is trending nationwide.

The six lawmakers issued a joint statement Friday night:

“We will not be intimidated. Our message to service members was simple and lawful: your oath is to the Constitution. We stand by that oath, and we stand by our troops.”

The incident marks the most direct presidential threat against members of Congress since January 6, 2021, and has reignited calls from Democrats for the Secret Service and DOJ to investigate Trump for incitement.

For now, the six veterans — all of whom have served in combat zones — say they are carrying on with their work, but with heightened security details.