FBI scheduling interviews with 6 lawmakers who encouraged military members to refuse ‘illegal orders’

The FBI and Department of Justice have contacted Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six members of Congress who appeared in a controversial video urging service members to ignore orders they may deem illegal, Fox News has learned.

Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Rep. Jason Crow released a video directed at service members and intelligence officers stating: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”

In response to the video, President Donald Trump said the lawmakers should be arrested and tried for “seditious behavior.” 

“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he said. 

SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS 

On Monday, the Department of War announced that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over the video. 

The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Slotkin is a former CIA officer.

Hegseth on Tuesday posted on X that the video “may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.”

RETIRED GENERAL BLASTS DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS’ ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO REFUSE ‘ILLEGAL’ ORDERS

He called the video a “politically-motivated influence operation” and listed reasons for his conclusion, including how the lawmakers never named a specific “illegal order,” which “created ambiguity rather than clarity.” He added that the video used “carefully scripted, legal-sounding language” and argued that the lawmakers “subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes.”

“In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,” Hegseth wrote. “The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.” 

He continued: “As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing — sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.”

Fox News’ Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.