The FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic members of the US Congress who in a video message told members of the military they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders, a Justice Department official said on Tuesday.
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The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth described on social media as “seditious” acts.
US President Donald Trump, who critics have said has sought to harness the power of the government to try to stifle dissent, accused the six Democrats of sedition and said in a social media post that the crime is punishable by death.
The Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI interviews with the lawmakers were to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing, and then go from there”. The FBI is headed by Trump appointee Kash Patel.
In a memo made public on Tuesday, Hegseth referred Kelly to the secretary of the Navy for “potentially unlawful comments” made in the video last week. Hegseth, in the memo, said he wanted a brief on the outcome of the review by December 10.
In statements on Tuesday, the Democrats described the FBI move as an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate them into silence.