Democratic senators say they won't be intimidated after DOJ indictment fails
- - Democratic senators say they won't be intimidated after DOJ indictment fails
ALLISON PECORINFebruary 11, 2026 at 3:29 PM
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Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly vowed Wednesday to continue to push back against the Trump administration after the Justice Department's failed attempt to secure an indictment against them over a video they made last year telling members of the military that they are not required to follow illegal orders.
"Sen. Slotkin and I, we did not ask for this, we're just the first through the breach, but you'll be damn sure that we are not going to back down. We've been in war zones for this country. We've fought our country's enemies. This doesn't intimidate us. And we know that this is much bigger than the two of us," Kelly said.
The press conference came after the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., failed to convince a grand jury to indict Kelly, Slotkin and Democratic Reps. Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan and Chris DeLuzio, all of whom are former members of the military or intelligence community.
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Kelly said news of the grand jury's rejection of the case was not a "good news story."
Jose Luis Magana/AP - PHOTO: Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Sen. Mark Kelly speak during a news conference at Capitol Hill, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington.
"This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system in order to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them and to send a signal to every American that they better think twice before they speak out or they might be next," Kelly said.
After the video was posted in November, President Donald Trump posted a number of messages about it on social media including one that called the video "seditious behavior, punishable by death." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth later censured Kelly, who retired as a Navy captain after serving more than 20 years -- an action that could result in a reduction in rank and retirement pay. Kelly challenged the censure in D.C. court.
The senators said the administration's attempt to indict them came out of the "authoritarian playbook."
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"They tried to have us charged and thrown into jail because we said something that they didn't like. Because we repeated what the law actually is. This happened here," Kelly said. "This is straight from the authoritarian playbook. This did not happen in Russia or China. In Russia and China we see these things. This didn't happen decades ago. It happened less than a mile from this building in the United States of America yesterday."
Slotkin said the administration's actions are about far more than a disagreement over a video.
"To be clear this is not about the content of this one video. Let's call it for what it is: the president is using our justice system to weaponize against his perceived enemies," Slotkin said.
Heather Diehl/Getty Images - PHOTO: Sen. Elissa Slotkin, joined by Sen. Mark Kelly speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against them at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, February 11, 2026 in Washington.
The lawmakers applauded the courage of the grand jurors who voted against an indictment.
"Yesterday, 20 anonymous Americans who we will never meet who made up that grand jury told us more about the values of America than Jeanine Pirro or Pam Bondi or certainly this President," Slotkin said. "Small business owners, a mailman, a teacher, we have no idea who they are, but just like people in Minneapolis, the people on the ground who understand the values of this country are the ones currently upholding it."
It is exceedingly rare for a grand jury to not indict after prosecutors have made their presentation. A vote of no true bill is when a grand jury decides against handing up an indictment.
Slotkin said she, Kelly, and the other lawmakers in the video will continue to stand up for what they say is right.
"If we have to sit here and take physical intimidation and legal intimidation to uphold the country we love, we will happily do that," Slotkin said.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not return ABC News' request for comment.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
