The FBI wants to question U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio and five other Democratic members of Congress who released a video last week telling service members and intelligence officials they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders.

Deluzio, of Fox Chapel, said the FBI contacted the House and Senate sergeants at arms Monday to request the interviews. The sergeants at arms are the chief law enforcement officers in their respective chambers.

“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,” Deluzio wrote Tuesday afternoon on X.

“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution,” Deluzio added. “We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied.”

The FBI declined to comment.

The lawmakers, all former members of the military or intelligence community, have not cited any current orders they think are illegal and should be ignored.

“We’ve seen this president issue and talk about doing things that are illegal,” Deluzio said last week in an interview with KDKA-TV, referring to a claim by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper that Trump asked during his first term if authorities could shoot protesters in the legs to control demonstrations in Washington following the murder of George Floyd. Deluzio also cited a federal judge’s ruling last week that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington to reduce crime was illegal.

“The time to train is not when you’re in the crisis; it’s before — which is why it’s important to restate the basic principle that you have to obey lawful orders and that no service member is ever required to follow illegal ones,” said Deluzio, a Naval Academy graduate who served as a Navy officer.

Trump, members of his administration and supporters lashed out at the lawmakers for releasing the 90-second video.

Trump described the message as “seditious behavior” and noted that such behavior could be “punishable by death.”

Trump said each of the lawmakers should be arrested and put on trial, and he shared a post from another Truth Social user saying the lawmakers should be hanged.

In addition to Deluzio, the lawmakers are U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA officer; U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy officer and astronaut; U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania’s Chester County, a former Air Force officer; U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger who attained the rank of captain; and U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, a former Navy Reserve intelligence officer.

A day after Trump responded to the video, Deluzio had to evacuate his offices in Carnegie and Beaver County’s Center Township because bomb threats were directed toward them.

On Monday, the Pentagon said it planned to investigate Kelly over what it said were potential breaches of military law. Citing federal law, the Pentagon said it is allowed to recall retired service members to active duty for possible court martial or other measures.

Debate over the video continued Tuesday.

“The despicable video urging troops to ‘refuse illegal orders’ may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.

Noting that the lawmakers didn’t cite a specific “illegal order” in the video, Hegseth said, “In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command and erodes cohesion. The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.”

In his post, Hegseth labeled the lawmakers the “Seditious Six.”

Earlier Tuesday, Deluzio posted a lengthy message on X condemning political violence and extreme rhetoric.

”This is bigger than me or others who were targeted. Political violence threatens the foundational principle that we can govern ourselves and live with liberty in our noble pursuit of happiness. Everyone must be clear in saying all forms of political violence are wrong. That should not be hard to do,” Deluzio wrote, noting that he condemned the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in September and the attempted assassinations of Trump during last year’s presidential campaign and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in April.

“In one of the threats Trump leveled against me, he said that because of my message, ‘we won’t have a country anymore.’ The president is dead wrong: His words, his recklessness, his willingness to threaten arrest and the killing of his political opponents for restating the law is what tears at the fabric of our constitutional republic,” Deluzio said.

“In this moment, every elected leader and every American should unite and condemn the President’s threats against me and others,” Deluzio added. “Political violence divides us, undermines law and order, and threatens the fabric of our democracy.”

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