President Donald Trump said people who leak government information should "be shot," a remark made during public comments that drew immediate backlash from press freedom organizations and former national security officials.
The comment, delivered without qualification or caveat, marks an escalation in Trump's long-running rhetorical campaign against unauthorized disclosures from inside the federal government. Trump has repeatedly called for aggressive prosecution of leakers throughout his political career, but has not previously used language calling for their execution.
The remarks drew swift condemnation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said threats of lethal violence against leakers chill whistleblowing that serves the public interest. The Society of Professional Journalists also criticized the statement, noting that many federal leaks expose waste, fraud, and abuse that agencies would otherwise keep hidden.
Federal law currently prescribes criminal penalties — not capital punishment — for unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The Espionage Act of 1917, the primary statute used to prosecute leakers, carries maximum sentences of 10 years per count. No federal statute authorizes the death penalty for leaking government information, and legal scholars said the suggestion has no basis in existing law.
Trump's relationship with the intelligence community and federal workforce has been marked by repeated clashes over leaks dating to his first term. In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a crackdown on leaks, and the Justice Department under Trump subpoenaed journalists' phone records in leak investigations. Trump also clashed publicly with former FBI Director James Comey and other officials he accused of leaking damaging information about him.
Press advocates warned that rhetoric of this kind can inspire violence. In 2018, a gunman killed five people at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, after years of grievance against the paper. Threats against journalists and government employees who speak to reporters have increased in recent years, according to data compiled by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump's comment was intended literally or as hyperbole, and the White House did not issue a clarifying statement. Trump has a history of using violent language in political settings, including suggesting in 2016 that "Second Amendment people" could take action against Hillary Clinton, and telling supporters in 2020 that election workers faced consequences for fraud claims that courts later rejected.
Reaction from Congress was split along party lines. Democratic lawmakers called the remark dangerous and unbecoming of the presidency. Several Republican members did not respond to requests for comment. The remarks come as the administration continues to confront unauthorized disclosures about internal deliberations, including reports about military planning and immigration enforcement operations.
