Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ignited a political and legal firestorm by suggesting that Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and a retired Navy captain, could be recalled to active duty and court-martialed. It is an extraordinary threat, one that pushes Trump’s ongoing feud with a group of Democratic veterans into territory Washington has rarely, if ever, seen.
Kelly appeared last week in a video alongside five other Democratic lawmakers who previously served in the military or intelligence community. In the clip, they reminded U.S. troops of their constitutional duty to refuse unlawful orders. Kelly, drawing on his years as a Navy pilot, said plainly that service members “can refuse illegal orders,” a point grounded in long standing military law.
Trump accused the lawmakers of bordering on sedition and called for them to be put on trial. He even retweeted posts urging for the death penalty before being more direct for the call for violence.
Hegseth’s Department of War followed Trump with a legal threat. In a formal statement, the department said it had received what it described as serious misconduct allegations against Kelly. The statement explained that under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, retired service members can, in certain circumstances, be recalled to active duty and subjected to court-martial proceedings. It also stressed that retirees remain bound by federal laws meant to protect the morale and loyalty of the armed forces.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.). In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations…
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) November 24, 2025
The department warned that any actions seen as undermining military discipline could be handled through legal means. It also reminded everyone that orders are assumed to be lawful unless proven otherwise. Personal beliefs do not excuse disobedience.
Hegseth took to his social media to call the video reckless and accusing the six lawmakers of encouraging troops to question legitimate authority. He said the video went against “good order and discipline,” language that mirrors Trump’s attacks and signals that the Pentagon under Hegseth intends to treat the video as a potential breach of military law.
Kelly is the only one of the six at risk of military prosecution. As a retired Navy captain receiving retirement pay, so he is still part of the small group of retirees who can be held under UCMJ jurisdiction. The others, who did not retire from the military, are not subject to military prosecution.
Kelly said he learned about the supposed misconduct review at the same time the public did, when Hegseth’s announcement began circulating online. In a statement, he pushed back hard, saying the move looked like an effort to intimidate elected officials from speaking openly about constitutional limits on presidential power. He said he had “given too much to this country” to be silenced by threats coming from inside the administration.
Legal experts say the threat may be more bluster than anything else. While the UCMJ technically allows the recall of certain retirees, using that power against a sitting U.S. senator would trigger an immediate legal battle over the limits of military authority and the separation of powers. The precedent for such a move is virtually nonexistent.
Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are calling for increased security around the senators and representatives involved in the video, pointing to a rise in threats after Trump’s online attacks. Kelly, a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, has insisted that nothing in the video was controversial, noting that the duty to refuse unlawful orders is one of the first principles taught in military training.
