Overview
- FBI agents, including from the Counterterrorism Division, requested interviews with all six Democratic lawmakers and contacted the House and Senate sergeants at arms on Nov. 25 to arrange them.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Navy to review retired Capt. Mark Kelly’s participation and report back by Dec. 10, focusing on the only participant still subject to the UCMJ.
- President Donald Trump labeled the group the “Seditious Six,” urged arrests and trials, and previously posted that their actions were “punishable by DEATH,” drawing bipartisan pushback from at least one Republican senator.
- Several lawmakers called the inquiries political intimidation and reported a surge in threats, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin citing hundreds of menacing messages and a bomb threat targeting her home.
- Military-law scholars say a prosecution would struggle to clear investigative and convening hurdles, and could falter against defenses including protected speech, the Speech or Debate Clause, and claims of unlawful command influence.