Updated November 24, 2025 at 11:29 AM HST
The Pentagon said Monday it is investigating Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot and NASA astronaut, for possible violations of military law after he appeared in a video with other Democratic lawmakers urging active duty military and intelligence personnel to refuse "illegal orders."
In the case of Kelly, the Pentagon put out a statement saying that it had "received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.)," and that "a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures."
The statement, posted on X, said: "This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality. Further official comments will be limited, to preserve the integrity of the proceedings."
The move comes as the Trump administration faces legal questions surrounding its deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities and deadly airstrikes on boats suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean.
Last week, Kelly, a Democrat elected in 2020, joined five other House and Senate Democrats who also served in the armed forces or an intelligence branch in a video on X. In it, Kelly and the others said: "This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution."
"Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders," the video said.
The video included appearances from Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who fought in Iraq, two Congress members from Pennsylvania -- Rep. Chris Deluzio, a former U.S. Navy officer, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer -- as well as Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer.
After the video's release, President Trump posted on Truth Social that it amounted to "seditious behavior" that was "punishable by death." Although the president later clarified that he was "not threatening death," he posted again on Truth Social Sunday (in all caps): "IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!"
After Trump's post, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to a question about the video on Thursday that any incitement to "defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders" was "a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do, and they should be held accountable, and that's what the president wants to see."
Shortly after Trump's initial post on Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters: "For a senator like Mark Kelly or any member of the House or Senate to behave in that kind of talks is to me so just beyond the pale."
"I'm not going to say anything more on it," he added.
Speaking on CBS' Face The Nation over the weekend, Kelly said Republicans in Congress had not spoken out after the president's threat. "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."
Reacting to the Pentagon on Monday, Kelly said that a post on X from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "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 said in a statement emailed to NPR.
Only Kelly, who is formally retired from the Navy with the rank of captain, could be recalled to active duty for court-martial. Such a move by the Pentagon is exceedingly rare and it's unclear if defense officials will follow through on the threat.
Kevin Carroll, a retired colonel and military lawyer who served in the first Trump administration, told NPR that the only similar example he can think of dates back to 1925, when then-Army Col. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial of insubordination. Mitchell, who later became famous for his singular focus on the need for the U.S. to build military airpower, made "extremely strong statements, very critical of military leadership," Carroll said.
But Mitchell was active duty. Because Kelly is retired and a sitting senator and possible 2028 presidential candidate, his situation "is really a horse of a different kind," Carroll said.
In an email to NPR, Mick Wagoner, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who was a military lawyer for 17 years and deployed to four war zones, described such a move by the Pentagon as "very rare" and "politically charged."
"This is a real stretch by the administration," he said. "This has generally applied for events that happened on active duty and were discovered post [active-duty] service."
"It is hard to see it going forwards" because of Constitutional protections for speech "made in the act of their official duties," he added.
Kelly is married to former Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was nearly killed in 2011 in an assassination attempt. As a naval aviator, he flew combat missions over Iraq before being selected as an astronaut by NASA. He went on to fly two Space Shuttle missions as a pilot and two more as commander. His twin brother is former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.
NPR correspondents Tom Bowman and Quil Lawrence contributed to this report.
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