D.C. Prosecutor Drops Effort To Indict Six Democrats
Jeanine Pirro ended a bid to indict six Democrats after a Washington, D.C., grand jury rejected charges over a video urging servicemembers to refuse illegal orders.
Overview
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro ended efforts to indict six Democratic lawmakers after a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected the case, sources said.
The lawmakers had posted a 90-second video urging military and intelligence personnel not to follow orders they believed were illegal, which triggered the investigation.
President Donald Trump called the lawmakers "traitors" and suggested the conduct was "punishable by death," and the lawmakers said the move attacked free speech, sources said.
Prosecutors had sought charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2387, a statute carrying a maximum 10-year prison sentence for urging insubordination, and the grand jury reportedly declined unanimously.
The Justice Department could still pursue charges in another district, but there were no public indications that it intended to do so, and the lawmakers said they would not back down.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources generally report this story neutrally, presenting competing facts and attributed statements. They note the grand jury's refusal, cite Trump's inflammatory remarks and lawmakers' free-speech claims, explain the legal statute and UCMJ context, and avoid editorializing—letting quoted language and procedural details carry the evaluative weight.
FAQ
The six Democratic lawmakers—Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and Representatives Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, and Chrissy Houlahan—released a November 2025 video calling on military and intelligence community members to remain obedient to military law rather than follow orders from the Trump administration that they deemed illegal.[1][3] All six lawmakers have backgrounds in either the military or intelligence community.[3]
Grand juries are structured so heavily in favor of prosecutors that rejection of charges is historically rare.[2] According to a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office in D.C., it is "almost comical" how skewed the rules are in prosecutors' favor, making a grand jury's outright rejection "stunning."[2] In this case, the rejection was even more unusual because it was unanimous.[1]
Prosecutors sought charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2387, a federal statute that threatens a maximum 10-year prison sentence for anyone who "advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military."[1] However, the grand jury found that prosecutors failed to prove probable cause that the lawmakers were calling on military members to disobey orders from the executive branch.[3]
Yes, it is technically possible for another federal prosecutor in a different judicial district to seek indictment of the six lawmakers.[3] However, no federal prosecutor has publicly indicated an intention to pursue such charges,[3] and sources cautioned that pursuing the case in another venue was unlikely.[1]
President Trump called the lawmakers "traitors" and suggested their conduct was "punishable by death."[1] The controversial response was part of a broader pattern that led to federal prosecutors being contacted about the video and the subsequent investigation by the FBI's counterterrorism division.[3]
