Pentagon considers court-martial against Senator Mark Kelly for video urging troops to refuse illegal orders, sparking political confrontation with Democrats
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is considering a court-martial against Democratic senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly for appearing in a video urging troops to refuse unlawful orders.
This investigation marks an extraordinary escalation in the Trump administration’s backlash against six Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds who made the viral video.
Kelly, a decorated Navy combat pilot and former astronaut who commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight, responded that he would not be intimidated or “silenced by bullies.”
The Pentagon threatened to recall the Arizona senator back to active duty to face court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Officials indicated Kelly may have undermined the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces,” citing laws barring interference in military cohesion.
It is highly unusual for the Pentagon to publicly threaten a sitting member of Congress, particularly given its traditional aversion to overt politics.
The video posted on Friday called on the military to “refuse illegal orders” and featured Kelly alongside Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and four House representatives.
Trump initially accused the group of “seditious behavior, punishable by death.”
Over the weekend, he wrote in an all-caps social media rant that the “traitors” who told troops to disobey him “should be in jail.”
The Democrats did not specify which orders they meant, but Trump has deployed the National Guard into multiple US cities against local objections.
Overseas, Trump has ordered strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels that killed more than 80 people and which experts say are illegal.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth branded the Democrats the “Seditious Six” and called their video “despicable, reckless, and false.”
He accused Kelly of bringing “discredit” on the armed forces, saying his remarks were addressed directly at troops while invoking his rank.
Analysts and Kelly’s supporters warned the move could backfire by elevating him ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
Kelly posted a photo of his military medals and recapped his Navy and NASA career.
“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 said.
“I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
In a blistering video, fellow Arizona senator Ruben Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, called the Pentagon announcement “insane” and suggested Hegseth and others were “acting like fascists.”
“Mark Kelly is a patriot. There’s no reason why they’re going after him,” he said. “He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members.” – AFP
