Mark Kelly

WASHINGTON — A grand jury in Washington refused Tuesday to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with a video in which they urged U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders,” according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into the video featuring Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four other Democratic lawmakers urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject orders they believe to be unlawful. All the lawmakers previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies.

Grand jurors in Washington declined to sign off on charges in the latest of a series of rebukes of prosecutors by citizens in the nation’s capital, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. It wasn’t immediately clear whether prosecutors had sought indictments against all six lawmakers or what charge or charges prosecutors attempted to bring.

Grand jury rejections are extraordinarily unusual, but have happened repeatedly in recent months in Washington as citizens who have heard the government’s evidence have come away underwhelmed in a number of cases. Prosecutors could try again to secure an indictment.

Spokespeople for the U.S. attorney’s office and the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The FBI in November began contacting the lawmakers to schedule interviews, outreach that came against the backdrop of broader Justice Department efforts to punish political opponents of the president. President Trump and his aides labeled the lawmakers’ video as “seditious” — and Trump said on his social media account that the offense was “punishable by death.”

Besides Slotkin and Kelly, the other Democrats who appeared in the video include Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania.

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who represents Michigan, said late Tuesday that she hopes this ends the Justice Department’s probe.

“Tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law,” Slotkin said in a statement. “But today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country,” she said.

Kelly, a former Navy pilot who represents Arizona, called the attempt to bring charges an “outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies.”

“Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him,” Kelly said in a post on X. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”

In November, the Pentagon opened an investigation into Kelly, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has censured Kelly for participating in the video and is trying to retroactively demote Kelly from his retired rank of captain.

The senator is suing Hegseth to block those proceedings, calling them an unconstitutional act of retribution. During a hearing last week, the judge appeared to be skeptical of key arguments that a government attorney made in defense of Kelly’s Jan. 5 censure by Hegseth.

Richer and Tucker write for the Associated Press.

Feb. 10 (UPI) — A grand jury rejected the Justice Department’s effort to indict congressional Democrats for their recent online video telling military members they don’t have to obey illegal orders.

The grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday evening declined to indict the lawmakers, all of whom either are veterans or served in the national intelligence community, The New York Times reported.

The lawmakers are Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania.

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, organized the video, which did not cite any specific orders or provide context. The video was published online after the Trump administration began carrying out deadly aerial strikes on alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean Sea in September.

It’s unclear if all or only some of the lawmakers were subject to the grand jury proceedings, according to NBC News.

The news outlet said the effort by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is an example of the Justice Department targeting the president’s political enemies.

Slotkin described the grand jury that declined to indict her and her Democratic colleagues as “anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law.”

“Today wasn’t just an embarrassing day for the Administration. It was another sad day for our country,” she said in a social media statement Tuesday night.

“Because whether or not Pirro succeeded is not the point. It’s that President [Donald] Trump continues to weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies. It’s the kind of thing you see in a foreign country, not the United States we know and love.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the effort to indict them was “a despicable, vindictive abuse of power” targeting lawmakers and veterans “because the administration didn’t like the content of their speech.”

In the video published online in mid-November, the six lawmakers all said military members can refuse to carry out illegal orders, and some said that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but right here at home.”

Trump called the video “seditious behavior” and suggested George Washington would have had all six hanged for treason.

The six lawmakers later said the FBI had contacted the respective House and Senate sergeants-at-arms to arrange interviews as part of a criminal investigation.

The four House members issued a joint statement in which they accused Trump of using the FBI to “intimidate and harass members of Congress.”

They said that “no amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also tried to censure Kelly and seek to demote, the senator said in a lawsuit.