Name: FBI probes congressional Democrats who warned military about illegal orders | REUTERS
Uploaded: 2025-11-26T16:54:53.000Z
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The FBI has requested interviews with six Democrats from the US Congress who told members of the military in a video message that they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders.

That's according to a Justice Department official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI interviews with the lawmakers were to determine if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move, earlier reported by Fox News, follows the Pentagon's threat to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers to active duty to potentially face military charges.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the lawmaker's video a seditious social media activity.

President Donald Trump also accused the six Democrats of sedition, adding that the alleged crime was punishable by death.

Trump's critics say he has sought to harness the power of government to stifle dissent.

In a statement on Monday, Kelly dismissed the Pentagon's threat as an intimidation tactic.

The other lawmakers who made the comments in a video released last week include Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq War veteran, and

Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris d' Eluzio and Chrissy Houlahad, who are all military veterans.

The legislators created the video amid concerns from Democrats echoed privately by some US Military commanders that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drug traffickers in Latin American waters.

The Pentagon has argued the strikes are justified because the drug smugglers are considered terrorists.