(WASHINGTON) — Three House Democrats said they are under federal investigation for their participation in a November social media video telling military and intelligence service members that they can refuse illegal orders — joining two Senate Democrats who are also facing the wrath of the Trump administration for appearing in the clip.
Democratic Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan shared on Wednesday that they were being investigated by federal prosecutors after the group of Democrats — who had previously served in the military or in the intelligence community — said in a video posted on social media that U.S. service members have a right to refuse unlawful orders.
Crow said because of the video, President Donald Trump is “using his political cronies in the Department of Justice to continue to threaten and intimidate us.”
“But he’s picked the wrong people,” Crow, a former Army Ranger, continued in a video post on X Wednesday. “We took an oath to the Constitution, a lifetime oath when we joined the military and again as members of Congress. We are not going to back away. Our job, our duty is to make sure that the law is followed. We will not be threatened, we will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced.”
Goodlander, who served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, agreed in a social media post Wednesday that “these threats will not deter, distract, intimidate, or silence me.”
“It is sad and telling that simply stating a bedrock principle of American law caused the President of the United States to threaten violence against me, and it is downright dangerous that the Justice Department is targeting me for doing my job,” Goodlander said in the post.
Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, said in a post on X Wednesday that the group of Democrats are “being targeted not because we said something untrue, but because we said something President Trump and Secretary Hegseth didn’t want anyone to hear.”
The trio of statements come after Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said earlier this week that she was under federal investigation for her participation in the video.
Slotkin said the investigation inquiry came from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, a Trump ally.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday that they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation into the other lawmakers.
The basis of the investigation is not clear.
The latest fallout from the video comes after Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who also appeared in the video, was censured by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In a censure letter, Hegseth said that the video “Undermines the Chain of Command; Creates Confusion About Duty; Brings Discredit Upon the Armed Forces; and Is Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.”
The censure will result in a reduction in rank and Kelly’s retirement pay, a process Hegseth said would take 45 days.
Kelly responded by filing a lawsuit against Hegseth, arguing that the censure violated his constitutional rights.
Democrats involved in the video have defended its message as being in line with the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Constitution.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the Democrats featured in the video, saying in social media posts in November that they are “traitors” whose actions are “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Asked in November if Trump wants to execute members of Congress, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president did not — adding that the Democrats in the video are “encouraging [service members] to defy the president’s lawful orders.”
In an interview with ABC News after the censure, Kelly said he still would “absolutely not” change his message to U.S. troops about not following illegal orders.
In his video, Crow similarly said he would not back down from his message.
“I am more emboldened than ever to make sure that I am upholding my duty, and I will not back down,” Crow said.
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