The Pentagon has launched an extraordinary investigation into Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a former navy captain, over his participation in a video that urged US troops to refuse unlawful commands.
Unprecedented Move Against Sitting Senator
In a dramatic escalation of tensions between the military and political establishment, the Pentagon announced on Monday that it was investigating Senator Kelly for potential breaches of military law. The investigation centres on a video posted last Tuesday in which Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds addressed service members directly.
The Pentagon's statement, posted on social media, cited federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty for potential court-martial proceedings. This represents a significant departure from the institution's traditionally apolitical stance before Donald Trump's second presidency.
Content of Controversial Video
In the video that sparked the controversy, Senator Kelly explicitly told military personnel: "you can refuse illegal orders." Other participants in the recording emphasised that troops needed to "stand up for our laws ... our constitution."
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose department has rebranded itself as the War Department, issued a statement describing the video as "despicable, reckless and false." Hegseth claimed that encouraging service members to ignore commanders' orders undermined military discipline.
Kelly served as a US navy fighter pilot before becoming an astronaut, retiring at the rank of captain. The Pentagon noted that he remains subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), unlike other participants in the video.
Trump's Explosive Reaction
Former President Donald Trump responded furiously to the video on his Truth Social platform, accusing Kelly and other participants of "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH." The president also reposted another user who wrote, in part, "HANG THEM."
Senator Kelly revealed that these comments made him fearful for his family's safety, particularly given that his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, narrowly survived an assassination attempt while serving in Congress in 2011. "This kind of language is dangerous, and it's wrong," Kelly stated during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe last Friday.
The legal situation remains complex. While active military members can face execution for sedition, and civilians can receive substantial prison sentences for seditious conspiracy, the US Manual for Courts-Martial clearly states that the requirement to obey orders "does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime."
Kelly has expressed concern about the lack of Republican response to Trump's comments, noting on CBS's Face the Nation that "we've heard very little, basically crickets, from Republicans in the United States Congress about what the president has said about hanging members of Congress."
The investigation comes amid heightened political tensions in the United States, with several instances of deadly political violence occurring in recent months. The Pentagon's move to investigate a sitting senator marks an unprecedented moment in modern American civil-military relations.
