WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video urging U.S. troops to defy “illegal orders” say the FBI has contacted them to begin scheduling interviews, signaling a possible inquiry into the matter.
It would mark the second investigation tied to the video, coming a day after the Pentagon announced it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over potential violations of military law. The FBI and Pentagon actions come after President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post.
“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” a group of four Democratic House members said in a statement Tuesday. “Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.”
Several lawmakers who appeared in the video noted they had been contacted.
“Last night, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video he did not like,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA officer, wrote Tuesday on social platform X.
“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,” she continued. “He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic, to scare people out of speaking up.”
The video features the six lawmakers, each with military and intelligence backgrounds, speaking directly to active service members and saying, “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”
The House members in the video, Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), also said they were contracted by the FBI through the House Sergeant at Arms.