Democratic lawmakers who participated in a social media video urging service members to resist illegal orders said Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, that the FBI is seeking interviews with them in a possible inquiry into the matter. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers who participated in a social media video urging service members to resist illegal orders said Tuesday that the FBI is seeking interviews with them in a possible inquiry into the matter.
The involvement of the FBI follows an announcement by the Pentagon on Monday that it is investigating Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona, a retired Navy captain, for potentially violating military law by appearing in the video.
The FBI declined to comment Tuesday.
Four House lawmakers — Jason Crow, of Colorado; Maggie Goodlander, of New Hampshire; Chris Deluzio, of Pennsylvania; and Chrissy Houlahan, of Pennsylvania — said the FBI on Monday contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms to request interviews with them.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, of Michigan, said in a separate statement that it appeared the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division had opened an inquiry into her in response to a video “President Trump did not like.”
In the 90-second video, the six lawmakers — all former members of the military and intelligence community — remind troops that they swore an oath to the Constitution and can refuse to carry out orders that are unlawful.
“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” Slotkin wrote on X. “He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet.”
Reps. Crow, Deluzio, Goodlander and Houlahan in a joint statement on Tuesday accused Trump of using the FBI as a “tool to intimidate and harass” members of Congress.
The video sparked fury in the Trump administration, with Trump calling for the arrest of lawmakers he branded “traitors” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accusing the “Seditious Six” of encouraging troops to ignore their commanders’ orders.
Hegseth has focused much of his ire on Kelly, who he said remains under the jurisdiction of the Pentagon as a retired veteran and could be recalled to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.
On Tuesday, Hegseth lashed out at a photo Kelly posted on X showing the medals he had been awarded hanging on his uniform.
“Your medals are out of order & rows reversed,” Hegseth wrote on X. “When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.”
Hegseth has used the rank of “commander” to refer to Kelly, though Kelly retired from the Navy as a captain in 2011, according to his service record.
Kelly’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday told journalist Catherine Herridge that he could not say much about whether the FBI would get involved in investigating the controversial video, describing it as an “ongoing matter.”
“What goes through my head is the same thing that goes through my head in any case: is there a lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation, or is there not,” he said. “And that decision will be made by the career agents and analysts here at the FBI.”
