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WASHINGTON — The FBI has requested interviews with six Democrats from Congress who told members of the military they must refuse any illegal orders, a Justice Department official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The move, reported earlier by Fox News, comes a day after the Pentagon threatened to recall Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as "seditious" acts on social media.
The other lawmakers, who made the comments in a video released last week, include Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran, and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, all military veterans.
The legislators created the video amid concerns from Democrats — echoed privately by some U.S. military commanders — that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels purportedly carrying suspected drug traffickers in Latin American waters.
The Pentagon has argued the strikes are justified because the drug smugglers are considered terrorists.
Trump accused lawmakers of sedition
President Donald Trump accused the six Democrats of sedition, saying in a social media post that the crime was punishable by death.
His administration has shattered longstanding norms by using law enforcement, including the Justice Department, to pursue his perceived enemies.
The Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the interviews were to determine "if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there." The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement on Monday, Kelly dismissed the Pentagon's threat as an intimidation tactic.
