A grand jury in the nation’s capital on Tuesday refused the Justice Department‘s attempt to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers who encouraged U.S. military members to ignore “illegal” orders in a video posted online.
The DOJ opened an investigation into the video featuring six Democratic lawmakers calling on troops and members of the intelligence community to defy illegal orders from the federal government. The lawmakers all served in the military or at intelligence agencies.
The lawmakers in the video were Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mark Kelly of Arizona, as well as Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Jason Crow of Colorado.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers said in the video. “Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. 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. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
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Grand jurors declined to sign off on charges against the lawmakers, according to The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors had pursued indictments against all six lawmakers or what charges they attempted to bring.
Prosecutors could still attempt to secure an indictment against the Democrats.
President Donald Trump had accused the lawmakers of being “traitors” who engaged in “sedition at the highest level” and “should be in jail.” He even suggested they should be executed over the video, although he later attempted to walk that comment back.
Slotkin, who previously worked at the CIA and Defense Department, was targeted with a bomb threat just days after the clip and Trump’s subsequent statements suggesting the Democrats be executed.
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“Tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law,” Slotkin said in a statement on Tuesday. “But today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country.”
Kelly, a former Navy pilot, called the attempt to bring charges an “outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackeys.”
“Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him,” Kelly said on X. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
In November, the Pentagon launched an investigation into Kelly, pointing to a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has censured Kelly and is attempting to retroactively demote Kelly from his retired rank of captain over his participation in the video, which affirms that refusing unlawful orders is a standard part of military protocol.
“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in an X post on Jan. 5.
Kelly responded by suing Hegseth to block those proceedings, which he called an unconstitutional act of retribution.
During a hearing last week, a judge appeared to be skeptical of key arguments that a government attorney made in defense of Hegseth’s move last month to censure the Arizona senator.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
