Six of the most anti-gun Democrat lawmakers with military and intel backgrounds thought they were just dropping a 90-second “civics lesson” for the troops.
Instead, their “refuse illegal orders” video has triggered:
- A Pentagon misconduct probe of Sen. Mark Kelly
- An FBI counterterrorism inquiry into all six lawmakers
- New reporting that links the operation to Soros-backed NGOs, Antifa-friendly legal groups, and a coordinated messaging “script.”
For gun owners who’ve watched these same lawmakers push every major gun-control bill in Washington, the story now looks a lot less like a one-off video—and a lot more like a planned pressure campaign aimed at President Trump and the chain of command. Smells like organized treason to me.
The Video That Lit the Fuse
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
On November 18, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) posted a slick, black-background video titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” featuring herself, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Reps. Jason Crow (CO), Chrissy Houlahan (PA), Chris Deluzio (PA), and Maggie Goodlander (NH). All six have military or national-security resumes. (Spectrum Local News)
Speaking directly to “members of the military and the intelligence community,” they told troops that “our laws are clear” and that they could refuse “illegal orders.” Slotkin’s post read:
“The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.” (Common Dreams)
What the video didn’t do was name a single “illegal order” President Trump has allegedly given, or explain who decides which orders are illegal. Even friendly outlets noted the omission. (Spectrum Local News)
Very quickly, conservative critics—and many in the gun-rights world—saw it as something else: a call to soften up the ranks for open defiance of a sitting commander-in-chief.
Pentagon: Possible Court-Martial for Kelly
Because Kelly is a retired Navy captain, he’s still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). That makes him the only member of the six who can be recalled to active duty and court-martialed. (TIME)
The Pentagon publicly announced it had received “serious allegations of misconduct” and launched “a thorough review” that could include recall and court-martial or other administrative measures. (CBS News)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the statement and slapped the group with the nickname “Seditious Six,” saying Kelly’s use of his rank while addressing troops “brings discredit upon the armed forces” and that the video was “despicable, reckless, and false.” (CBS News)
The legal hook is 18 U.S.C. § 2387, which makes it a federal crime to “advise, counsel, urge, or in any manner cause… insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty” in the armed forces. Violations are punishable by up to ten years in prison. ()
Kelly has tried to cast himself as the victim and the one under attack. In a statement on X, he said:
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress… it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” (TIME)
On Face the Nation, he insisted, “All we said is we reiterated what basically is the rule of law that members of the military should not, cannot follow illegal orders.”(CBS News)
President Trump, meanwhile, has called their actions “seditious behavior” and reposted a message saying “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”—later clarifying he was quoting the statute and not personally threatening execution. (CBS News)
FBI Counterterrorism Division Steps In
The fire didn’t stop at the Pentagon. Within days, members of the group said the FBI’s counterterrorism division contacted them to schedule interviews about the video. (NBC 6 South Florida)
One member described the outreach as an attempt by Trump to “use the FBI” to intimidate critics, arguing that this response was “exactly why we made the video.”(youtube.com)
According to NBC and AP reporting, the inquiry is at an early stage and appears focused on whether the video crossed the line into actively encouraging disobedience in the ranks. (NBC 6 South Florida)
Whatever the outcome, it’s now more than a Twitter fight: both the Pentagon and the FBI have formally stepped onto the field.
A Long, Anti-Gun Track Record Behind the “Seditious Six”
For gun owners, none of this is happening in a vacuum. As Tred Law laid out in AmmoLand News, every one of these six has been a reliable vote for gun control for years.
According to that review:
- They’ve backed “universal” background checks that would cover private transfers—something many gun owners see as a slow-motion national gun registry.
- They’ve pushed red-flag / ERPO confiscation that lets courts seize guns without a criminal conviction, on minimal evidence.
- They support bans or heavy restrictions on common semi-automatic rifles and standard-capacity magazines used by millions of peaceful gun owners.
- They back federal safe-storage mandates that let the government dictate how you store firearms in your own home.
Kelly, in particular, helped advance the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background checks and pumped federal cash into red-flag systems nationwide, and he’s been a driving force behind the GOSAFE Act, which tries to redefine many modern semi-autos as prohibited “assault-type” weapons.
In one past press event, Kelly argued that without “high-capacity” magazines, “you would have had fewer people shot, and fewer people killed,” using emotional appeals to justify sweeping hardware bans.
So when these same lawmakers suddenly appear in a slick video aimed at the military, warning about “illegal orders” and hinting that Trump is some kind of domestic warlord, a lot of gun owners see a familiar pattern:
- Paint Trump and his voters as dangerous
- Use soldiers and vets as moral cover
- Push more laws that strip ordinary Americans of their guns and their autonomy
The “Seditious Six” nickname stuck for a reason.
The New Piece of the Puzzle: A Soros-Linked NGO Campaign
BREAKING: It’s been revealed that a nonprofit linked to George Soros is fomenting sedition within the military around the same time a “script” went out to Democrat members of Congress urging rebellion within the ranks against President Trump.
There are also links to ANTIFA.… pic.twitter.com/1S4roMD4Vk
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 26, 2025
Until this week, it was possible to treat the video as just another over-the-top political stunt. Then the receipts started dropping.
Independent researchers and outlets like Legal Insurrection, WND, and Slay News traced the messaging back to a web of left-wing nonprofits, including groups backed by George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
Here’s what those investigators say they’ve uncovered (these are their claims; they haven’t all been and won’t be confirmed by mainstream outlets):
- National Lawyers Guild “Illegal Orders” FAQ – November 11
- On November 11—a week before the “Seditious Six” video—the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force published an FAQ titled “FAQ on Refusing Illegal Orders.” (Military Law Task Force)
- The document tells troops they “have the right, and in some cases the duty, to refuse illegal orders,” and offers legal guidance and counseling contacts.
- NLG is a long-time far-left legal group that critics note has defended Antifa-aligned activists in past street clashes. (Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion |)
- Win Without War Billboards Outside Major Bases
- Around the same time, billboards began popping up near Fort Liberty (Fort Bragg) and other installations with messages like:
“Did you go airborne just to pull security for ICE?” and “Is this what you signed up for?” (fayobserver.com) - The signs direct troops to NotWhatYouSignedUpFor.org, which encourages them to unplug from military networks, set up encrypted email, and get “resources” on refusing orders.(Breitbart)
- The campaign is funded by Win Without War, a progressive advocacy group. Local reporting shows Win Without War paid for the Fayetteville billboard campaign. (fayobserver.com)
- Conservative writers dug into public filings and reported that Win Without War’s associated 501(c)(4)—formerly called New Security Action—has received major funding from Soros’s Open Society network.(Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion |)
- Around the same time, billboards began popping up near Fort Liberty (Fort Bragg) and other installations with messages like:
- Direct Partnership Between Win Without War and NLG
- Researchers like “DataRepublican” on X noted that NotWhatYouSignedUpFor.org lists Win Without War, National Lawyers Guild, and allied vet groups as partners providing “guidance on refusing illegal orders.” (Slay News)
- The “Script” Claim
- Florida journalist Eric Daugherty summarized the findings this way: a Soros-linked nonprofit is “fomenting sedition within the military around the same time a ‘script’ went out to Democrat members of Congress urging rebellion within the ranks against President Trump,” and he pointed to reported comments from Sen. Ruben Gallego that a script had been sent to him from an outside group. (WorldNetDaily)
- So far, that “script” detail rests on commentary and hasn’t been independently confirmed by major news outlets—but it matches the timing and language of the broader campaign.(Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion |)
Put together, critics argue this looks a lot less like six lawmakers spontaneously filming a video—and a lot more like the political arm of a coordinated NGO operation targeted at the U.S. military.
Flynn: This Looks Like a Color Revolution Op
Breaking! General Flynn Calls On President Trump To Immediately Address The Nation Concerning The Color Revolution Being Fomented By The Seditious 6 And The CIA As He Lays Out The String Of Illegal Investigations And Law-fare That The Leftist Have Engaged In Since DJT’s Historic… pic.twitter.com/HYeXQwCNim
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 26, 2025
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has been one of the loudest voices calling the whole effort “textbook” color-revolution tactics—the kind of regime-change operations the CIA and State Department have used overseas. (breakingnewsandreligion.online)
In an interview discussed by outlets like Breaking News and Religion and ZeroHedge, Flynn argued that:
- The “Seditious Six” video fits a pattern of delegitimizing Trump,
- Framing normal authority as ‘illegitimate’, and
- Trying to trigger defection and disobedience inside the military and intel agencies. (breakingnewsandreligion.online)
Commentator “DataRepublican” went even further, warning that if the operation succeeds, elite defection from the military and intelligence world would be a late-stage sign of an attempted overthrow—not an early warning. (Slay News)
Whatever you think of those warnings, it’s clear that:
- A Soros-backed NGO network is funding billboards and encrypted portals aimed at encouraging troops to question or refuse orders. (Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion |)
- A far-left legal guild is pumping out “how-to” guides on refusing orders. (Military Law Task Force)
- And the “Seditious Six” video dropped right in the middle of that messaging wave, using almost the exact same language. (Spectrum Local News)
Why This Matters So Much to Gun Owners
For pro-gun Americans, this story isn’t just about Trump or even one video. It cuts straight to the heart of who ends up with guns—and who obeys whom—inside the United States.
- Same politicians, same playbook
- The Seditious Six have already shown us who they are: universal background checks, red-flag confiscation, semi-auto bans, magazine bans, safe-storage mandates. Their long-term project is to convert your Second Amendment right into a heavily regulated privilege. (AmmoLand News)
- Using the troops as a political weapon
- Now those same politicians are appearing in a coordinated campaign that encourages servicemembers to second-guess their chain of command, based on vague warnings about “illegal orders” that they refuse to specifically identify.
- NGOs and billionaires pulling the strings
- The emerging paper trail shows Soros-funded outfits and law-fare groups building the runway—billboards, encrypted websites, legal guides—while members of Congress deliver the “official” message in uniform or with their ranks on the screen.
- If they’ll incite disobedience there, what will they tolerate here?
- If it becomes normal for partisan NGOs to tell soldiers when to obey or disobey the president, it’s not hard to imagine similar operations aimed at local police, National Guard, or anyone else who carries a gun in a uniform.
At that point, your right to keep and bear arms—and the rule of law around you—depend on which side wins the information war, not on the text of the Constitution.
The Bottom Line
Right now:
- The Pentagon is reviewing whether Sen. Mark Kelly violated military law and could be recalled for court-martial. (TIME)
- The FBI has opened an inquiry and is interviewing all six lawmakers about their video. (NBC 6 South Florida)
- Independent investigators have mapped a Soros-linked NGO and legal network pushing parallel “refuse illegal orders” messaging at the troops, days before and after the video dropped.(Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion |)
Even if some details—like the exact “script” that was allegedly sent to lawmakers—are still being fleshed out, the overall pattern is hard to ignore.
This looks less like six lone “national security professionals” acting on conscience and more like one spoke on a much bigger wheel: a color-revolution-style pressure campaign designed to weaken President Trump, divide the military, and clear the way for the same anti-gun political class that’s been trying to gut the Second Amendment from day one.
For pro-gun, pro-Constitution Americans, the lesson is simple:
- Pay attention to the NGOs, not just the politicians.
- Watch the military messaging as closely as the gun-control bills.
- And remember that the people telling you they’re “protecting democracy” are often the same ones working hardest to disarm you—and, now, to turn the armed forces into their political tool.
The investigation is just beginning. The strategy behind it has been years in the making.
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The “Seditious Six” — A Long History of Gun Control Efforts, Now Trying to Foment Treason
