Kelly Responds to Pentagon's Court-Martial Threat

Sen. Mark Kelly is pushing back against the Pentagon's threat of a possible court-martial.
In a post on X, Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, said he learned of the investigation via social media and dismissed it as an attempt to intimidate lawmakers.

• "When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired—which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents," the Democrat wrote.

• "In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets," Kelly continued. "At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much."
• "Secretary Hegseth's tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President's posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death. 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," Kelly wrote. "I've given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution."

The Pentagon announced Monday that it is investigating "serious allegations of misconduct" against Kelly. The move comes days after Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers—all veterans or former intelligence officials—appeared in a video urging military personnel to refuse unlawful orders, emphasizing that "our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders," the BBC reports. The Pentagon's statement, posted to social media, didn't specify the allegations but reminded service members that lawful orders are presumed legal under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which still applies to the retired Kelly.

The Pentagon said Kelly could be recalled to active duty for a court-martial or face other administrative actions. In a post on X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the lawmakers the "Seditious Six" and said their video was "despicable, reckless, and false." Hegseth wrote that five of the six lawmakers in the video are no longer under the Pentagon's jurisdiction. "However, Mark Kelly (retired Navy Commander) is still subject to UCMJ—and he knows that," Hegseth wrote.