In a November ad, six Democratic members of Congress, who served in the military, stated that the UCMJ [FN1] not only allows, but requires, a service member to refuse to obey an illegal order. [FN2] The ad angered the trump, et al. Nonetheless, 1/10

1) They stated the law.
Failure to obey the lawful order of a superior [FN3] is a violation of the UCMJ. Presumption that an order is lawful does not apply “to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime.” [FN4] E.g., Murder is a crime. [FN5] 2/10

Viol’n or failure to obey any lawful gen’l order or reg [FN6] violates the UCMJ. A gen’l order or reg is not lawful if “contrary to the Constitution, the laws of the [U.S.], or lawful superior orders or for some other reason is beyond the authority of the official issuing it." [FN7] 3/10

2) They are right.
"Obedience to an unlawful order does not necessarily result in criminal responsibility ... unless the accused knew that the order was unlawful or unless the order was one which a person of ordinary common sense, under the circumstances, would know to be unlawful." [FN8] 4/10

The United States helped shape the concept of punishment for war crimes after WW2. Leaders of both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan were charged and tried. Those who were convicted were punished by imprisonment or execution. 5/10

We did not allow as a defense, for the Nazis or the Japanese, “I was following orders.” Murder is punishable as a crime, whether committed by a Nazi or by a thug wearing a mask and a shirt that says “ICE.” Just as importantly today: 6/10

When members of the military see that the gen’l orders they receive or regs that direct them are issued by a dictator and thus “contrary to the Constitution,” they have a duty to perform their duties as no other service members in this country before them. 7/10

Footnotes:
FN1. Uniform Code of Military Justice is the “collection of substantive and procedural rules governing the discipline of members of the armed forces.” Black’s Law Dictionary, New Pocket Ed (1996), pp. 107-08. 8/10

FN2. Juana Summers and Quil Lawrence, “Pentagon investigates Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly after he appeared in Democrats' video,” NPR, 11/24/25, accessed 1/10/26.
FN3. 10 U.S.C. §§ 90, 91(2). 9/10

FN4. Matthew Barry, “Unlawful Orders: This Article is intended to explain unlawful orders in the Military,” accessed 1/10/26.
FN5. 10 U.S.C. §118.
FN6. 10 U.S.C. §92(1).
FN7. Barry, id., citing UCMJ Art. 92.
FN8. Id., citing, Military Judges Benchbook. 10/10