While the lawmakers behind the video framed the appeal as a defense of the Constitution, military legal codes make clear that refusing orders can carry devastating penalties.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reacted to a video in which six Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds urged service members to defy "illegal orders" by the Trump administration amid National Guard deployments in U.S. cities and strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

Democrats urged members of the military to refuse illegal orders — something President Trump called “seditious.” In fact, service members are bound by their oath of enlistment.

The call from Democratic veterans in Congress highlights the federal law that dictates the conduct of members of the military.