A federal grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers accused of seditious behavior after they encouraged members of the military to refuse what they considered to be unlawful orders by President Trump.
The indictment effort, led by Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, targeted Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzi (D-PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), as well as Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Slotkin said in a statement following the grand jury decision that “anonymous American citizens” upheld the “rule of law and determined this case should not proceed.” She added that “whether or not Pirro succeeded is not the point. It’s that President Trump continues to weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies. It’s the kind of thing you see in a foreign country, not in the United States we know and love.”
“No matter what President Trump and Pirro continue to do with this case, tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law,” Slotkin stated.
Kelly called the investigation an “outrageous abuse of power” by the Trump administration. He stated, “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. Donald 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.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth censured Kelly in January following the “illegal orders” videos. “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,” Hegseth explained at the time. “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.”
Kelly then filed a lawsuit against the Department of War and Hegseth.
