Federal prosecutors fail to secure grand jury indictment for ‘seditious six’ Democrats

Federal prosecutors from the District of Columbia reportedly tried and failed Tuesday to convince a grand jury to indict six Democratic lawmakers who created a video last year to urge members of the U.S. military and intelligence community to defy unlawful orders. 

President Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth started referring to the lawmakers involved as the “seditious six,” which caught traction among GOP critics. 

The Justice Department opened an investigation into the Democratic lawmakers behind the video: Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.

NBC News first reported that the office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, tried to secure an indictment Tuesday against the lawmakers. It was not clear what charges prosecutors brought before the grand jury, but they were rejected. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately return a request for comment.

Congressional lawmakers have general immunity from prosecution for acts taken in relation to their official roles under the speech or debate clause of the Constitution. 

Mr. Kelly said Tuesday evening on social media that the attempted indictment was “an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies.”

“It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me,” he said. “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.”

Ms. Slotkin said in her own post that the Democrats’ 90-second video “simply quoted the law” and she hopes the grand jury decision to reject the charges “ends this politicized investigation for good.”  

The six Democrats created the video as former members of the military and U.S. intelligence agencies to address the current members of those institutions facing “enormous stress and pressure” from the Trump administration.

“Right now the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” the lawmakers said. “Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders. … You must refuse illegal orders.”

Ms. Slotkin, who organized the video, and others involved declined to cooperate with the Justice Department investigation.

Although the attempt to indict them on Tuesday failed, Ms. Slotkin described it as “another sad day for our country.”

“Because whether or not Pirro succeeded is not the point,” she said. “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.”

Mr. Deluzio said he “will not be intimidated for a single second” by the Trump administration. 

“They may want Americans to be afraid to speak out or to disagree — but patriotism demands courage in this moment. DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!” he posted on social media, using the same parting line as the video.

Ms. Goodlander commended the grand jury, saying the anonymous participants “honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars.”