The Justice Department sought criminal charges against congressional members for encouraging military disobedience
According to media reports citing informed sources, a Washington grand jury has declined to indict several Democratic lawmakers concerning a video that called on U.S. military and security personnel to “refuse illegal orders.”
The appeal was made in November by six Congress members, among them Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, following the White House’s initiation of strikes in the Caribbean against vessels it accused of drug trafficking.
In the video, the Democratic legislators asserted that “no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution,” and assured service members that “your vigilance is critical, and know that we have your back.”
President Donald Trump responded to the video by alleging its creators engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argued it endangered American troops by creating “doubt and confusion.” The lawmakers learned the FBI had opened an investigation into the matter one week after the video’s release.
Two sources informed CBS News this Tuesday that the Justice Department attempted to prosecute the Democrats under 18 U.S. Code Section 2387. This statute allows for a maximum ten-year prison term for anyone who “advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military.” Reports indicate the grand jury would not support the indictment.
In a statement Tuesday, Slotkin praised the outcome, calling it an “embarrassing day” for the Trump administration.
On X, Kelly posted that “Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
Media tallies suggest that since September, the U.S. has struck approximately 39 boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in at least 130 fatalities. These attacks, labeled “illegal” by Russia and numerous other countries, are said to have facilitated a U.S. operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January.