The FBI has requested interviews with six Democrats from the US Congress who told members of the military they must refuse any illegal orders, a Justice Department official has said.
The move, reported earlier by Fox News, comes a day after the Pentagon threatened to recall US Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as "seditious" acts on social media.
The Justice Department official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the interviews were to determine "if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there".
The other politicians, who made the comments in a video released last week, include Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran, and Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan.
Mr Trump then floated the death penalty for those six politicians on his Truth Social platform.
The legislators created the video amid concerns from Democrats — echoed privately by some US military commanders — that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels purportedly carrying suspected drug traffickers in Latin American waters.
[EL: Democrats video tweet]The Pentagon has argued the strikes are justified because the drug smugglers are considered terrorists.
The Trump administration has also faced criticism over its decision to send National Guard troops to cities controlled by Democrats.
In a statement on Monday, Senator Kelly dismissed the Pentagon's threat as an intimidation tactic.
Speaking to US cable news channel MSNOW on Monday, Senator Kelly said he was "not going to be silenced" by the Pentagon's investigation nor Mr Trump's comments.
"We wanted to do something pretty simple here," he said.
"We wanted to just remind folks that they need to comply with the law … and also explain to members of the military that we have their backs, that we know what's going on."
In a series of social media posts on Tuesday, Chris Deluzio accused Mr Trump of attempting to silence the Democrats through intimidation.
"Donald Trump threatened my life because he didn't like the constitutional truths I spoke," Mr Deluzio, a former Navy officer, wrote, adding that he had received death threats as a result.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ABC/Reuters
