Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Crow on Monday accused President Donald Trump of trying to incite violence and intimidate critics after the Pentagon announced an investigation into Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly’s participation in a video produced with Crow and other Democratic lawmakers that urged troops to refuse to carry out illegal orders.

“You can’t bully a patriot,” Crow said in a post on X, adding that he stood by his fellow veteran.

“This is a decisive moment,” continued the Aurora Democrat, a former Army Ranger. “Trump is trying to incite violence, intimidate, and punish those who speak up to hold him accountable. But the only thing we fear is not rising to this moment and defending the country we love.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that a misconduct probe targeting Kelly could lead to the retired Navy pilot’s recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or other measures after the Pentagon issued a statement citing a federal law that prohibits interfering with “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces.”

The Nov. 18 video featured military and intelligence community veterans Kelly, Crow, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Woodlander and Maryland Rep. Chrissy Houlahan. Saying they were speaking “directly to members of the military,” the lawmakers told troops “you can refuse illegal orders” and asked the military to “stand up for our laws and our Constitution.”

Kelly was singled out, Hegseth noted in a social media post, because as the only member of the group who was retired military, he was the only one subject to military jurisdiction.

Soon after the video was first posted, Trump on Thursday accused the Democrats of “seditious” and “treasonous” conduct “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post. Trump also reposted calls by others for the lawmakers to be hanged.

Crow said Friday on social media that threats against the congressman and his staff had “exploded” since Trump’s initial statement. Late Friday, Crow’s office posted that everyone was safe after law enforcement had responded to a bomb threat received by his district office in Aurora.

“Threats and violence are unacceptable and should be able to be condemned by all Americans, regardless of your political beliefs,” Crow said.

By Sunday morning, Trump had walked back his rhetoric, saying he wasn’t threatening execution, but said in a social media post that he still wanted to see “the traitors that told the military to disobey my orders” in jail.

“We were very clear in the video that what we’re talking about is unlawful orders,” Crow said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “You have the president’s spokesperson going into a press conference this past week and saying that we called for people to disobey lawful orders. They’re simply lying, because the truth is unacceptable to them.”

U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, called the video “reckless” in a social media post the day after the video appeared online. He suggested that Crow wouldn’t have supported “this defiance” if the roles had been reversed under Democratic President Joe Biden.

“To our servicemembers: follow the lawful order of your commanding officer,” Crank added.

Other Democratic senators rallied behind Kelly on Monday, including Colorado’s John Hickenlooper, who referred to Kelly as “one of the most honorable public servants I know.”

“This is intimidation from an administration that is terrified of people standing up to them, and being held accountable,” Hickenlooper said on X.

Kelly’s fellow Arizona senator, Democrat Ruben Gallego, a veteran, unloaded on Hegseth and the administration in an expletive-laden series of statements on social media.

“@CaptMarkKelly has dedicated his life to serving this country with honor,” Gallego said on X. “And now Trump is coming after him with the same baseless garbage he throws at anyone who refuses to bend the knee.”

Calling Kelly a “patriot,” Gallego added: “There’s no reason why they’re going after him. He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members.”