President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to blast six congressional Democrats, including New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who appeared in a social media video urging military and intelligence officers to ignore ‘illegal’ orders. He called their behavior ‘seditious’ and argued they should be locked up or possibly face the death penalty.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” the president first posted on Truth, followed by a second post reading “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR punishable by DEATH!”
Thursday’s escalation followed numerous calls from New Hampshire Republicans for Goodlander to resign or face punishment for what some say could be construed as encouraging treason.
“If Congresswoman Goodlander thinks it’s acceptable to tell service members to disregard orders, she has absolutely no business serving in Congress. She should resign,” Senate President Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) said in a statement Wednesday.
Goodlander and the other five Democrats defended their position in a statement. “What’s most telling is that the president considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law,” they wrote. “Every American must unite and condemn the president’s calls for our murder and political violence.”
Rep. Chris Pappas also jumped to Goodlander’s defense on social media, condemning Trump’s call for “execution of his political opponents.”
“Violent rhetoric like this is a poison to our democracy,” Pappas said on X/Twitter.
Christian Urrutia, a progressive candidate to succeed Pappas in the First Congressional District, opined that those upset by Goodlander’s video “don’t know the law,” calling analysis by Carson and others as “sloppy, amateur ‘lawyering’ from Republicans.”
Asked Thursday if the president does want to execute members of Congress, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered “No.”
