In a stunning escalation of tensions between the White House and Capitol Hill, six Democratic lawmakers—four House members and two senators—have found themselves at the center of twin investigations by the FBI and the Pentagon after posting a video urging U.S. military and intelligence personnel to refuse unlawful orders. The video, released on November 20, 2025, has ignited a fierce legal and political storm, raising questions about the boundaries of free speech, military law, and the independence of Congress under President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to Reuters and Roll Call, the FBI notified the six Democrats through their respective chambers’ sergeant-at-arms offices on November 25 that it was investigating their actions and seeking interviews. The lawmakers—Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Representatives Jason Crow (Colorado), Chris Deluzio (Pennsylvania), Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania), and Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire)—are all veterans of the military or intelligence community. Their video, which quickly went viral, was a direct appeal to those currently serving: “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.”
The fallout was swift. President Trump, in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, accused the lawmakers of “seditious behavior” and declared, “THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK. IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE! IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!” In an earlier statement, Trump asserted that such behavior was “punishable by death,” before later moderating his tone, saying, “I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, it was death. That was seditious behavior.”
The FBI, now led by Trump appointee Kash Patel, declined to comment publicly on the investigation. However, a Justice Department official told Reuters that the interviews with lawmakers are intended to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing, and then go from there.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, emphasized that the inquiry is in its early stages and no charges have been filed.
Simultaneously, the Pentagon announced a separate probe into Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain. On November 24, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a formal review of Kelly’s conduct under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)—a move that could theoretically result in Kelly being recalled to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative measures. In a memo dated November 25 and shared on X, Hegseth referred the allegations to Navy Secretary John Phelan and set a deadline of December 10 for a briefing on the findings. The Pentagon has not indicated whether other lawmakers might also face military discipline.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA and Defense Department official, was the first to publicly confirm the FBI’s inquiry. In a statement posted to X, she wrote, “Last night, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like. The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up.” Slotkin, who has been mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential contender, later used the controversy to rally support for Fight for the People PAC, affiliated with former Vice President Kamala Harris. “I refuse to believe that this is the new normal—where the President of the United States uses fear and intimidation against people with whom he disagrees,” she wrote in a fundraising email.
The four House Democrats—Crow, Deluzio, Houlahan, and Goodlander—issued a joint statement on November 25, condemning the FBI’s actions as political harassment. “President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” they wrote. “No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution. We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”
Senator Mark Kelly, meanwhile, responded to the Pentagon’s probe with a lengthy and emotional statement on X, reflecting on his decades of service in the Navy and at NASA. “When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired—which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents. In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets,” Kelly wrote. He continued, “Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death. If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
Kelly’s office confirmed the FBI’s outreach and said he “won’t be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s attempt to intimidate him and keep him from doing his job as a U.S. senator.” Like Slotkin, Kelly has used the controversy to engage with Democratic donors, attaching his name to a Democratic National Committee fundraising pitch.
Support for the embattled lawmakers has come from within their own party. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey posted, “We must not be silenced. Thank you Mark Kelly for continuing to use your voice. It’s an honor to stand with you.” The Democrats maintain that their statements in the video accurately reflect U.S. law: American troops swear an oath to the Constitution, not the president, and are required to obey only lawful orders. They did not specify any particular order in their message, though concerns have been raised in recent years—by both lawmakers and some military commanders—about the legality of certain Trump administration directives, including military strikes on suspected drug traffickers and the use of federal troops in American cities.
Notably, while President Trump has accused the lawmakers of sedition, there is no charge of sedition under U.S. law for civilians. The crime of “seditious conspiracy” does exist, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years, and was used in the prosecution of leaders involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack—some of whom were later pardoned by Trump. For military personnel, however, the UCMJ does include a provision for sedition, with potential penalties as severe as death.
As the December 10 deadline for the Pentagon’s review looms, the outcome of these investigations remains uncertain. What’s clear is that the clash between Congress and the executive branch over the limits of dissent and the lawful role of the military has rarely been more public—or more fraught with consequence.
