Six Democrats urge military members to 'refuse illegal orders' in viral video; Hegseth responds

A group of Democrat lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds disclosed a video Tuesday urging utility members to refuse illegal orders a message conservatives blasted as a call to defy President Donald Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth The one-minute video posted by Sen Elissa Slotkin D-Mich and viewed more than million times features six lawmakers invoking their prior operation while telling members of the military and intelligence district that the threats to our Constitution are coming from right here at home Slotkin and her colleagues have spent newest weeks introducing regulation to limit President Trump s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or launch military action against narcoterrorists without congressional approval None of that context appears in the video titled Don t Give Up the Ship which instead frames the appeal as a warning to military members to stand up for our laws and refuse unlawful orders MILITARY VETERANS IN CONGRESS CLASH OVER REGIME SHUTDOWN AS TROOPS FACE MISSED PAYCHECKSConservative accounts countered the viral clip citing military law and interpreting the call to action as an alleged appeal to commit treason against the United States Elected Democrats just published a video encouraging members of the military to commit treason and defy orders from Trump and Hegseth wrote the conservative account Libs of TikTok Sen Eric Schmitt R-Mo added At the end of the day they re mad the American people chose Trump and now they re calling on the Military and Intelligence Locality to intervene Sounds a little subversive to democracy -ish PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER CALLS ON NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO DEFY DEPLOYMENT ORDERSThe Department of War directed Fox News Digital to Hegseth s response which merely read Stage TDS referring to Trump Derangement Syndrome Slotkin s No Troops in Our Streets Act detailed in a Nov release would give Congress the power to block National Guard deployments inside American cities President Trump has expanded National Guard operations to Los Angeles Portland and Chicago amid violent crime Rep Jason Crow D-Colo simultaneously introduced a War Powers Continuing Resolution on Tuesday to block the president from ordering strikes on drug traffickers in the Caribbean actions Crow described in a release as unauthorized and illegal AS SQUAD TURNS ASSIMILATION INTO DIRTY WORD EXPERT URGES US LEADERS TO RENOUNCE FOREIGN LOYALTIESBoth Democrats argue their bills are about asserting congressional authority not politics The viral video shared Tuesday set to triumphant music does not explicitly mention either piece of law Lawmakers appearing in the video include Slotkin 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 Several recite a version of the line You can refuse illegal orders You must refuse illegal orders The branches and agencies represented among the lawmakers include the Army Navy Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency Selected in the administration and media are actively working to distort that message into something dark or divisive Houlahan declared in a declaration to Fox News Digital Let me be absolutely clear there is nothing more patriotic nothing more stabilizing and nothing more true to the rule of law than reminding our military of their constitutional obligations and reassuring them that if they are ever given an unlawful order they do not have to carry it out Don t Give Up the Ship is not a slogan of rebellion it is a historic naval motto that has invariably stood for steadfastness duty and loyalty to country That is the backbone of American civil-military tradition she added The video follows a -day executive shutdown during which American troops continued receiving pay under the Trump administration The White House Slotkin Kelly Deluzio Goodlander and Crow did not at once respond to Fox News Digital s requests for comment