Mark Kelly talks about ‘unprofessional’ DOJ’s court martial threat
Sen. Mark Kelly talks standing up to the Trump administration and a court martial threat “on Twitter” at a Tucson town hall event on Dec. 5, 2025.
- Sen. Mark Kelly is facing a potential court martial and an FBI probe after participating in a video urging military members to refuse illegal orders.
- Former President Donald Trump called the video “seditious,” while Kelly has dismissed the threats as unserious and unconstitutional.
- War Secretary Pete Hegseth has requested a report from the Navy secretary on any military case against Kelly by a Dec. 10 deadline.
TUCSON — Sen. Mark Kelly scoffed at the possibility of facing a court martial as he ridiculed President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth as unserious people.
Just days before the Dec. 10 deadline for the Navy’s secretary to report to Hegseth on any military case against Kelly for taking part in a video Trump has labeled “seditious,” the Arizona Democrat said he hasn’t heard from the Pentagon, and nothing substantive from the FBI.
“We got something from the FBI. We got one thing. It didn’t even have a point of contact on it,” he said Dec. 5 after a town hall event in Tucson. “That’s how unprofessional this (Justice Department) has become.”
The FBI is pressing its domestic terrorism investigators to open a probe against the Democrats who took part in a Nov. 18 video that urged members of the military to refuse illegal orders, Bloomberg Law reported. The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Kelly tells service members, ‘You can refuse illegal orders’
Sen. Mark Kelly and other Democratic members of Congress had a message for U.S. troops and members of the intelligence community.
Provided by Sen. Mark Kelly’s office
Kelly went on to say that if the threats of legal fallout directed at him and the other Democrats didn’t involve Trump, they would be seen as “crazy.”
“It’s certainly unconstitutional. It’s also in violation of the separation of powers of me as a United States senator. But also, they haven’t been serious enough about this to even notify me other than on Twitter. … They’re not serious people and I’m not backing down.”
Kelly told the 200 people on hand for his town hall that he expects Hegseth “is just going to take a hike. That’s what I ultimately expect him to do, or he can try to prosecute me. But I’m not going away.”
Kelly has struck a defiant tone in national television appearances and at home back in Tucson in the days since Trump first reacted angrily to the Democrats’ video.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump wrote Nov. 20.
Kelly repeatedly has said the video grew out of his concerns that Trump has for years called for illegal actions, such as his desire for the military to kill the families of terrorists and to have them shoot the legs of protesters in America.
“We know you are under enormous pressure right now,” the video message said. It did not specify what exactly the military might view as illegal orders.
It also featured Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, and Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colorado; Chris Deluzio, D-Pennsylvania; Maggie Goodlander, D-New Hampshire; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pennsylvania.
“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said.
The Pentagon already is weighing a possible court martial of Kelly, who is a former Navy combat pilot, for “serious allegations of misconduct.”
Hegseth asked the secretary of the Navy for “a brief on the outcome of your review” by no later than Dec. 10.
While Kelly was unsparing in his criticism of Trump and Hegseth, he was more measured about the consequences of the Sept. 2 military strikes on a boat in international waters.
Kelly, who has not yet seen complete video of the Caribbean strikes, remained reluctant to say whether that action may have constituted a war crime that killed two apparent survivors of the first attack.
“I’ve talked to some of the folks who have seen it, and they’re very concerned. They think we should all have the opportunity to view the video and ask questions and get the Execute Order and other documentation and be able to question witnesses, including the secretary of Defense. … I don’t want to prejudge what the outcome of that investigation will be but from what I know, it is rather concerning.”
The top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees reviewed video of the strikes in a classified briefing on Dec. 4. Kelly sits on both committees but was not among those briefed.
After the briefing, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the strikes “highly lawful and lethal.”
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, who is the leading Democrat in the House Intelligence Committee, called it “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”
Both the House and Senate have indicated plans to review the 22 known strikes in international waters that have killed at least 87 people since September.
Kelly said he has been concerned about the legality of the strikes since he has seen Hegseth “running around a stage like an idiot talking about hunting and killing people and not following the rules of engagement.”
(This story was updated to add a video.)
