November 2025 United States military video controversy

In November 2025, six Democratic members of the United States Congress—Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio and Maggie Goodlander—appeared in a video in which they told military service members that they "can refuse illegal orders".[1]

Video

External videos
Sen. Mark Kelly tells service members they can refuse illegal orders on YouTube from The Arizona Republic

In the video, they said:

We want to speak directly to members of the military and the intelligence community who take risks each day to keep Americans safe. We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniform military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. You all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. And right now, the threats 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. We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you're serving in the CIA, the Army, our Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical. And know that we have your back because now more than ever, the American people need you. We need you to stand up for our laws, our Constitution, and who we are as Americans. (...) Don't give up the ship.

Reactions

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.[1][3][4][5][6]

David D. Cole compared Trump's actions to the Espionage Act.[7]

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."[8]

Aftermath

On November 24, Pete Hegseth referred the video for a review of "potentially unlawful conduct by Captain Mark E. Kelly".[9][10] In December 2025, the Pentagon told multiple media outlets that its "preliminary review" was being escalated "to an official Command Investigation".[11][12][13] 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) Kelly’s reckless misconduct" in "a necessary process step".[14][15]

In November 2025, the six lawmakers who appeared in the video said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating them.[16][17] In February 2026, the administration reportedly failed to convince a single juror to indict them.[18][19][20]

Kelly v. Hegseth

Kelly v. Hegseth
CourtUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia
Full case name Mark Kelly, Arizona Senator v. Pete Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense, US Department of Defense, John Phelan, as Secretary of the Navy, US Department of the Navy
StartedJanuary 12, 2026
Docket nos.1:26-cv-00081
Court membership
Judge sittingRichard J. Leon
Keywords

In January 2026, Kelly sued Hegseth and the Pentagon.[21] 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".[22][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Samuels, Brett; Beitsch, Rebecca (November 20, 2025). "Trump deems Dems 'traitors' over calls for military to resist unlawful orders". The Hill. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  2. ^ Marquez, Alexandra; Lebowitz, Megan; Smith, Allan (21 November 2025). "Trump accuses Democrats of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death,' for urging military to ignore illegal orders". NBC News.
  3. ^ Hartmann, Margaret. "Trump Shares Call to 'Hang' Democratic Lawmakers". New York. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  4. ^ Mayes-Osterman, Cybele. "Trump accuses six Democratic lawmakers of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death'". USA Today.
  5. ^ "Trump calls for Democratic lawmakers to face trial for 'seditious behavior'". Politico. November 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Staff, WSYX (November 20, 2025). "'HANG THEM': Trump reacts to Democratic lawmakers' video appeal to military". WSYX.
  7. ^ Cole, David (November 26, 2025). "Opinion | Mark Kelly Is Being Investigated for Telling the Truth". The New York Times. We've seen something like this before, but it's not a precedent we should be proud of. During World War I, Congress made it a crime to incite insubordination in the military.
  8. ^ Fuller, Haley (November 21, 2025). "When Lawmakers Lecture the Military: Why the "Unlawful Orders" Video Invites Confusion". Military.com.
  9. ^ @DeptofWar (November 25, 2025). "photo" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. ^ Forrester, Megan; Jack, Moore (November 25, 2025). "Hegseth orders Navy to review Sen. Kelly for 'potentially unlawful conduct'". ABC News.
  11. ^ Britzky, Haley (December 16, 2025). "Pentagon launches new phase of probe into Sen. Mark Kelly over 'illegal orders' video | CNN Politics". lite.cnn.com.
  12. ^ Walsh, Joe; Sprouse, Ryan (15 December 2025). "Pentagon "escalating" its review of Sen. Mark Kelly over video urging defiance of illegal orders - CBS News". CBS News.
  13. ^ Timotija, Filip (15 December 2025). "Pentagon escalates review into Sen. Kelly over 'illegal orders' video". thehill.com.
  14. ^ @SecWar (January 5, 2026). "Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice. Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly's seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay. To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly's reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly's official and permanent military personnel file. Captain Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has thirty days to submit a response. The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within forty five days. Captain Kelly's status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action. These actions are based on Captain Kelly's public statements from June through December 2025 in which he characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders. This conduct was seditious in nature and violated Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which Captain Kelly remains subject as a retired officer receiving pay" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  15. ^ Hubbard, Kaia (January 5, 2026). "Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Mark Kelly and cut pension over video on illegal orders - CBS News". CBS News.
  16. ^ Jaffe, Greg (November 25, 2025). "Democrats Say F.B.I. Is Investigating Them Over Illegal Orders Video". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Fields, Ashleigh (January 14, 2026). "Slotkin says she's under federal investigation over illegal orders video".
  18. ^ Reilly, Ryan J.; Grumbach, Gary; Kosnar, Michael (February 11, 2026). "Trump administration fails to indict Democrats involved in 'illegal orders' video". NBC News. Trump administration officials failed Tuesday to convince a single juror that they had met the threshold to bring charges against the Democratic lawmakers, according to two of the sources familiar with the investigation. Federal grand juries have between 16 and 23 members, with 12 needed to advance an indictment.
  19. ^ Feuer, Alan; Thrush, Glenn; Schmidt, Michael S. (February 11, 2026). "Grand Jury Rebuffs Justice Dept. Attempt to Indict 6 Democrats in Congress". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Barr, Luke; Date, Jack (February 10, 2026). "DOJ fails to secure indictments for Democratic members of Congress in military video case". ABC News (United States).
  21. ^ KUNZELMAN, MICHAEL (January 12, 2026). "Sen. Kelly sues the Pentagon over attempts to punish him, declaring it unconstitutional". AP News.
  22. ^ Moore, Elena (February 12, 2026). "Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon action against Mark Kelly over illegal orders video". NPR.
  23. ^ Mineiro, Megan; Montague, Zach (February 12, 2026). "Judge Temporarily Blocks Hegseth from Punishing Kelly for Video". The New York Times.
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