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The Pentagon has threatened a senator with potential military legal proceedings over a video he made with Democratic colleagues encouraging active-duty troops and intelligence officials to refuse illegal orders.
The defence department on Monday announced it had launched a probe into unspecified misconduct allegations made against Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired navy captain.
The investigation into Kelly could result in his “recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures”, the Pentagon said.
The US military has its own criminal code known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which operates separately from the civilian federal judicial system. Military legal proceedings are known as courts-martial.
The move marks an escalation in the response from Donald Trump’s administration to the six lawmakers’ video after the president accused the Democrats of “seditious behaviour”, labelling them “traitors” whose behaviour should be “punishable by DEATH!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later denied Trump wanted the lawmakers to be executed.
The lawmakers’ 90-second clip, posted on social media last Tuesday, alleged threats to the constitution were coming from inside the country and accused the Trump administration of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens”.
“Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly said in the video However, they did not specify what would constitute an illegal order or whether any had been issued.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday said Kelly was the only member of the video-making group who falls under his department’s jurisdiction given his retired status. Kelly “is still subject to UCMJ — and he knows that”, Hegseth wrote on X.
“The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false,” Hegseth said.
The defence department on Monday said federal laws “prohibit actions intended to interfere with the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces. Any violations will be addressed through appropriate legal channels.”
Hegseth said the Pentagon is “reviewing [Kelly’s] statements and actions, which were addressed directly to all troops while explicitly using his rank and service affiliation — lending the appearance of authority to his words. Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately.”
Kelly said in a post on X he first learned of the possible investigation from Hegseth’s social media post.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” he added.
Since making the video, the Democratic lawmakers have defended it and doubled down on its message.
Kelly on Sunday told CBS News that active-duty service members “cannot follow illegal orders”.
He also condemned Trump’s calls for his execution: “I didn’t think he would step over that line, calling for the execution of members of Congress. And his words carry tremendous weight, more so than anybody else in the country,” he said, adding threats made against him have increased.
Kelly, who flew fighter jets and is also a former astronaut, is married to former lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in an attempted assassination in 2011. He was on the shortlist to be the running mate of former vice-president Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
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