Mark Kelly talks about ‘unprofessional’ Justice Department court-martial threat
Sen. Mark Kelly speaks “on Twitter” against the Trump administration and threats of court martial during a Tucson City Hall event on Dec. 5, 2025.
- Sen. Mark Kelly faces a potential court-martial and FBI investigation after participating in a video urging military personnel to refuse illegal orders.
- Former President Donald Trump denounced the video as “inflammatory,” but Kelly dismissed the threat as disingenuous and unconstitutional.
- Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth has asked the Secretary of the Navy to report on the military case against Kelly by a Dec. 10 deadline.
TUCSON — Sen. Mark Kelly has derided President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth as unserious and mocked the possibility of them facing a court-martial.
Days before a Dec. 10 deadline for the Navy secretary to report to Hegseth on the military case against Kelly for participating in a video Trump labeled “inflammatory,” the Arizona Democrat said he had heard nothing from the Pentagon and had not heard anything substantive from the FBI.
“We got something from the FBI. We got one thing: We didn’t even have a contact for it,” he said Dec. 5 after an event at Tucson City Hall. “That’s how unprofessional this place (the Department of Justice) has become.”
The FBI is pressuring domestic terrorism investigators to launch an investigation into Democrats who participated in a Nov. 18 video urging military personnel to refuse illegal orders, according to Bloomberg Law. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
Sen. Kerry tells soldiers: “Illegal orders can be refused.”
Sen. Mark Kelly and other Democrats sent a message to members of the U.S. military and intelligence community.
Provided by the Office of Senator Mark Kelly
Kelly went on to say that if the threats of legal repercussions directed at him and other Democrats did not involve Trump, they would be considered “crazy.”
“This is certainly a violation of the Constitution. It also violates my separation of powers as a United States senator. But they’re also not serious enough to let me know about this outside of Twitter. … They’re not serious people, so I’m not going to back down.”
Kelly told a crowd of 200 people at City Hall that Hegseth “is just going to go hiking. That’s ultimately what I expect from him. Otherwise he might try to prosecute me, but I’m not going to walk away.”
Since President Trump first reacted angrily to the Democratic Party’s video, Kelly has been defiant on national television and at his home in Tucson.
“Sedition is punishable by death!” Trump wrote on November 20th.
Kelly has repeatedly said the video was born out of concern over President Trump’s calls for illegal actions over the years, including killing the families of terrorists and calling for the military to shoot protesters in the legs in the United States.
“I know you are all under tremendous pressure at the moment,” he said in a video message. The military did not specify what exactly it considers to be an illegal order.
Also featured were Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). Chris Deluzio, Democrat, Pennsylvania. Maggie Goodlander, Democrat, New Hampshire. and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pennsylvania.
“Our law is clear: We can refuse orders that are illegal,” said Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Pentagon is already considering the possibility of court-martialing Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, on “allegations of gross misconduct.”
Hegseth asked the Secretary of the Navy for a “summary of the findings” by December 10 at the latest.
While Mr. Kelly was unsparing in his criticism of Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth, he was more circumspect about the impact of the September 2 military attack on boats in international waters.
Mr. Kerry has not yet seen the full footage of the Caribbean attack, but declined to say whether his actions amounted to a war crime, which killed two possible survivors of the first attack.
“I’ve talked to some people who have seen this, and they’re very concerned. They think we should all have the opportunity to see the video and ask questions, get executive orders and other documents, and 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’s pretty alarming.”
Top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees reviewed video of the airstrike in a classified Dec. 4 briefing. Although Mr. Kelly is a member of both committees, he was not among the members briefed.
After the press conference, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the attack “highly legitimate and deadly.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called it “one of the most alarming things I’ve seen in my time in public office.”
The House and Senate have announced plans to review 22 known attacks in international waters since September that have killed at least 87 people.
Kelly said he was concerned about the legality of the attack after seeing Hegseth “running around the stage like an idiot talking about hunting and killing and not following the rules of engagement.”
(This story has been updated to include video.)
