FBI seeks to interview Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrats Trump accused

The FBI is seeking to interview Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and five other congressional Democrats in connection with their appearance in a video encouraging members of the U.S. military to refuse to follow illegal orders, those lawmakers confirmed Tuesday.

President Donald Trump last week blasted the video, accusing Kelly and the other lawmakers of “seditious behavior,” calling them “traitors,” and saying that, “In the old days, if you said a thing like that, that was punishable by death.”

The other lawmakers on the video were Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, as well as House Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, both of Pennsylvania.

Slotkin said the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division “appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like.”

“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” Slotkin said in a tweet. “He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up.”

Goodlander, Crow, Deluzio, and Houlahan, in a joint statement, said, “President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,”

“Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews,” the statement said.

“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution,” the lawmakers said. “We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”

Kelly’s office told NBC News, “Senator Kelly won’t be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s attempt to intimidate him and keep him from doing his job as a U.S. Senator.”

Fox News first reported on the FBI’s efforts.

Earlier Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out online over Kelly’s display of his U.S. Navy medals after the Pentagon began investigating him for encouraging service members to refuse to obey unlawful orders.

“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & discipline … but you can’t even display your uniform correctly,” Hegseth snapped in a post on X, which replied to a tweet by Kelly showing his medals.

“Your medals are out of order & rows reversed. When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection,” said Hegseth, a former Fox News host and a former major in the Army National Guard.

The Pentagon on Monday said it was investigating “serious allegations of…