Sen. Mark Kelly faces accountability for his comments in ‘seditious’ video
Democrat Senator Mark Kelly (Ariz.) participated last year in a questionable video suggesting that military and intelligence personnel should not comply with President Trump’s orders – and the comments have landed him in hot water
by Summer Lane | January 5, 2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced that Sen. Mark Kelly has received a response from the Department of War in light of the senator’s past comments urging military servicemembers and members of the U.S. intelligence apparatus to ambiguously disobey “illegal” orders from the Commander-in-Chief.
Hegseth said the department is taking administrative action against Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, by reducing his retirement rank, “resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.”
“To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly’s official and permanent military personnel file,” Hegseth said in a statement on X.
The retirement grade reduction will be completed within the next 45 days, he added, and Kelly will have 30 days to respond to this action, as well.
Secretary Hegseth alleged that Kelly’s public conduct was “seditious in nature” and violated multiple articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth noted. “And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”
As reported by LindellTV, the DOW in November considered recalling Kelly to active duty for a potential court-martial as one possible course of action following the Democrat senator’s troubling statements.
The video – posted last fall – included Kelly, along with a handful of other Democrat lawmakers, who ambiguously suggested to U.S. military men and women and members of the intelligence community that President Trump’s orders were “illegal,” although they never specified what orders they were referring to.
President Trump described the comments in the video as “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOUR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.”
Photo: Adobe Stock
