The one-minute video was the idea of U.S. Sen. Elissia Slotkin, a former CIA officer and a Democrat from Michigan.
Slotkin was likely motivated by Trump deploying National Guard troops to U.S. cities, but any reference to her current bill in the Senate, or any context about troop deployment, is missing in the short video, Fox News said.
The video features Slotkin and five other lawmakers, all military veterans, sternly telling currently military members to “refuse illegal orders” or “refuse unlawful orders.”
The other politicians in the video are Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Rep. Jason Crow.
Reacting to the video, Trump wrote on Truth Social each of the “traitors” in the video should be “arrested and put on trial.”
In a second post, the commander in chief called the video’s message “really bad” and “dangerous to our country,” and called it “seditious behavior.”
Is the video’s message, which is disobey Trump’s orders, a criminal act?
“It’s a crime to incite mutiny,” J. Christian Adams, a former Department of Justice attorney, told AFN.
On the X channel Libs of TikTok, where the video had surpassed 6 million views by Wednesday, the video also generated more than 11,000 comments. Many of those comments cite the federal code, 18 U.S.C. 2383, which states:
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
A second, related federal law is 18 U.S. Code 2384. That section of federal law carries a maximum 20-year sentence for “Seditious Conspiracy” if two or more people conspire to “prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”
Despite the clear warning in the federal code, Adams told AFN it’s a “dream” to predict the Trump administration will hold the six Democrats responsible for urging the military to disobey Trump.
“No one’s going to be prosecuting the members of Congress for doing that,” he said. “That’s just not going to happen.”
Even though Adams predicted the six politicians will not be held accountable, he said his concern is for military service members who risk a trip to the Leavenworth military prison because they believed the message.
“For a service member to challenge the president’s order, or even to criticize the president,” he adds, “could cost that service member their liberty.”
Elaine Donnelly, of the Center for Military Readiness, similarly told AFN she couldn’t believe Sen. Slotkin states “we have your back” in the video. That comment suggests the lawmakers will fight and defend service members who disobey orders.
“No, they won’t,” she said. “That’s a false promise.”
