Grand jury declines to indict Maggie Goodlander for ‘illegal orders’ video

A grand jury has declined to indict U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander for making a video with other congressional Democrats last fall urging military personnel to refuse any “illegal orders” from the Trump administration.

Federal prosecutors tried but failed to bring charges against Goodlander and the other five members of Congress, all of whom are military or intelligence agency veterans, according to the New York Times.

President Donald Trump had accused them of “seditious behavior, punishable by death.”

The U.S. Department of Justice notified Goodlander that they were reviewing her actions about a month ago. Goodlander said in a statement on social media that Trump had directed the department to “investigate me, arrest me and hang me” for her involvement in the video.

“Today, an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars,” Goodlander said. “No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.”

Goodlander represents New Hampshire’s second district and was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The video, published in November after the Trump administration deployed National Guard troops to several American cities, did not reference specific orders but accused the administration of “pitting” the military against U.S. citizens.

In the video, Goodlander said service members swore to “protect and defend” the Constitution.

Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan were also among the Democrats investigated by the Department of Justice.

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