In November 2025, six Democratic members of the United States CongressâÂÂMark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio and Maggie GoodlanderâÂÂappeared in a video in which they told military service members that they "can refuse illegal orders".
In the video, they said:
President Donald Trump called those in the video traitors who should be charged with sedition punishable by death, and shared a social media post calling for them to be hanged.
David D. Cole compared Trump's actions to the Espionage Act.
Haley Fuller wrote on Military.com that the video was "misguided" because "the messaging was vague", it did not identify "any specific order they believed might be unlawful, nor did they offer examples illustrating what troops should or should not obey" and that without "concrete examples, legal context or acknowledgment of process (...) the video oversimplifies a complex legal area that service members navigate at real personal risk."
On November 24, Pete Hegseth referred the video for a review of "potentially unlawful conduct by Captain Mark E. Kelly". In December 2025, the Pentagon told multiple media outlets that its "preliminary review" was being escalated "to an official Command Investigation". In January 2026, Hegseth tweeted that the administration "has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings" and "also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) KellyâÂÂs reckless misconduct" in "a necessary process step".
In November 2025, the six lawmakers who appeared in the video said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating them. In February 2026, the administration reportedly failed to convince a single juror to indict them.
In January 2026, Kelly sued Hegseth and the Pentagon. In February 2026, Judge Richard J. Leon granted a preliminary injunction against Hegseth, writing "Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees".