US Lawmakers Say Justice Department Contacted Them Over Video Urging Troops to Refuse Illegal Orders

Five Democratic lawmakers say they have been contacted by the Justice Department after posting a video urging members of the US military and intelligence agencies to refuse illegal orders, a move that critics say marks a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against dissent.

The legislators are Senator Elissa Slotkin and Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan, and Chris Deluzio. All five previously served in the military, the CIA, or naval intelligence.

The video, released in November, came amid a period of aggressive military and domestic deployments. At the time, US forces were carrying out air strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, while President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard into major US cities as part of a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants and crime.

“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers said in the video.

“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or Constitution,” they added.

Trump reacted furiously. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he accused the lawmakers of “seditious behaviour, punishable by death”.

According to US media reports, the FBI opened an inquiry in November into the five lawmakers, as well as Senator Mark Kelly, who also appeared in the video. Kelly, a former astronaut and Navy combat pilot, has since become a focal point of the administration’s response.

Critics argue that the actions taken against Kelly amount to an unconstitutional assault on his First Amendment rights. Shortly after the video was released, the Defense Department announced it had opened an investigation into him and warned that he could face a court-martial depending on the outcome.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was seeking to demote Kelly from the rank he held at retirement and reduce his retirement pay. On Monday, Kelly announced that he had filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department and Hegseth, accusing them of a campaign of “punitive retribution” that trampled his free speech rights.

It remains unclear whether Kelly himself is also being investigated by the Justice Department.

Slotkin, Goodlander, and Houlahan posted similar statements, confirming contact from federal prosecutors. US media later reported that Deluzio had also been contacted.

“Like my colleagues, I was contacted by federal prosecutors who are investigating me for making a video reminding service members not to follow illegal orders,” Houlahan wrote. “The six of us are being targeted not because we said something untrue, but because we said something President Trump and Secretary Hegseth didn’t want anyone to hear.”

Houlahan described the investigation as “ridiculous,” particularly as Trump has suggested launching attacks abroad in the name of protecting free speech, including in Iran, where communications have been shut down during mass protests.

Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly tested the limits of presidential authority as commander-in-chief. His administration has ordered military strikes in international waters in the Caribbean and Pacific, actions that legal experts and several Latin American governments have described as extrajudicial killings.

Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, DC, has also drawn legal challenges. Under US law, military forces are typically deployed domestically only in cases of invasion or severe internal unrest.

In December, the Supreme Court upheld a decision blocking Trump’s attempt to deploy the National Guard in Illinois, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to support his claim that a “rebellion” was under way. The ruling set a precedent likely to shape future challenges in other states.