DC grand jury fails to indict 6 Democratic lawmakers over 'illegal orders' video

Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan were the Democrats that the DOJ tried indicting

Published: February 11, 2026 8:41am

A grand jury in Washington, D.C., failed to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video from last year telling military and intelligence community members to defy "illegal orders."

The federal indictment, which failed on Tuesday, was pursued by the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, NBC News reported.

In November, the Democrats said in a video following the U.S. military's strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, “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 uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. You all swore an oath to protect and defend this constitution.”

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

At the time, President Trump called the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” in a post on Truth Social.

The FBI had requested interviews with all six Congress members, and the Democrats said last month that they were under investigation by the Justice Department.

Federal prosecutors were seeking to indict lawmakers for violating a law that forbids interfering with the U.S. military’s loyalty, morale, or discipline, according to The New York Times.

"Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro attempted to persuade a Grand Jury to indict me," Slotkin posted on X on Tuesday. "This was in response to me organizing a 90-second video that simply quoted the law. Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition.

"Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed. Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good."

Deluzio posted on X on Tuesday, "I will not be intimidated for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today. American citizens on a grand jury refused to go along with this attempt to charge me with a crime for stating the law in a way Trump and his enablers didn’t like."

"This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies," Kelly posted on X on Tuesday. "It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way things work in America."

Goodlander posted on X on Tuesday, "President Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate me, arrest me, and hang me simply for doing my job. Today, an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars."

"This is good news for the Constitution and the free speech protections it guarantees," Houlahan posted on X on Tuesday. "The grand jury upheld the rule of law - this is a win for all Americans."

"Donald Trump’s DOJ just tried—and failed—to indict me in front of a grand jury. We will continue to fight back against their rising tyranny. Don’t Give Up the Ship," Crow posted on X on Tuesday.

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