Authoritarian Threats Are Not Acceptable — Speak Up Now

I am writing today because I am deeply alarmed by the President’s public statements on November 20, 2025, in which he labeled six Democratic members of Congress as “traitors” and accused them of “seditious behavior, punishable by death” simply for reminding U.S. military personnel that they are obligated to refuse illegal orders. The lawmakers’ video did nothing more than state a basic principle of military law: service members are required to follow lawful orders, and are equally required not to carry out unlawful ones. Their message was not seditious — it was a reminder of constitutional duty. For the President to respond by invoking “punishable by death,” threatening arrests, and amplifying calls for violence is unacceptable and dangerous. This rhetoric crosses every democratic norm. It risks inciting violence, undermines civilian oversight of the military, and inches our country toward authoritarianism. I am asking you, as my elected representative, to do the following: 1. Publicly denounce this rhetoric and affirm that threatening lawmakers with execution for exercising oversight is intolerable in a democracy. 2. Reassert Congress’s constitutional role in preventing illegal or unconstitutional military actions. 3. Support legislation or resolutions that safeguard the military from being used for unlawful purposes and that protect whistleblowers, inspectors general, and members of Congress who speak out. 4. Demand immediate clarification and accountability from the White House regarding these threats and any potential retaliatory actions aimed at critics or political opponents. Our democracy cannot function if elected officials are threatened with death for upholding the rule of law. No president — regardless of party — should be permitted to use the language of authoritarianism, intimidation, or political violence. I urge you to take this matter seriously and act swiftly. Silence in the face of this rhetoric enables it. We need leadership that protects the Constitution, not power that threatens it.