Outrage erupted across social media Tuesday after reports that the Trump administration attempted – and failed – to secure indictments against Democratic lawmakers over a video urging members of the military and intelligence communities to refuse unlawful orders.
“For the CEOs and university presidents and other responsible leaders who have been biding their time and waiting for him to cross the magic red line before speaking up,” Sen. Chris Murphy wrote, “maybe when he starts arresting Senators is a good time to get off the f------ sidelines.”
The reaction came after reports emerged that prosecutors failed to secure an indictment tied to a video featuring six Democratic lawmakers that President Donald Trump had previously claimed amounted to “seditious behavior.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), one of the lawmakers targeted, called the effort “an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies.”
“It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way things work in America. Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
More Democrats continued to pile on. “This is absolutely obscene, disgusting,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) in a social media post. “Unamerican at the most basic level. The stuff of dictatorships.”
“The shocking thing is not that Pirro failed. It’s that she even tried,” Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) wrote to his followers on Tuesday.
Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau added in his own post: “We have lawless thugs in charge of our government.” While former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene theorized to her followers on X that no indictment was secured, “Likely because no crime was committed.”
Veteran congressional reporter Jamie Dupree summed it up: “Totes not normal, part deux,” he concluded.
This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies. It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way… https://t.co/sXFN3j5Oww
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) February 11, 2026