Kelly responds to suing Trump amid illegal orders video probe, calls prosecution ‘ridiculous’

WASHINGTON, DC: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Sunday, December 7, said he would not be intimidated by threats from President Donald Trump and his administration following his appearance in the viral "illegal orders" video.

Kelly stressed that while pursuing legal action was “not in my nature,” his legal team was prepared to respond forcefully to any prosecution efforts by the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice. He added that Trump was “trying to silence me, but he’s not silencing me.”

Mark Kelly says he will not be silenced despite administration pressure

During his appearance on MS Now’s The Weekend, Senator Mark Kelly addressed the controversy surrounding the video posted in mid-November. In the clip, he and five other Democratic lawmakers urged service members to disobey any illegal orders issued by the Trump administration.

Co-host Jacqueline Alemany asked Kelly whether there had been any conversations among the lawmakers about “suing the Trump administration back” in response to what they viewed as an effort to silence them. Kelly said the administration was “clearly in violation of my First Amendment rights,” adding that his remarks were lawful and “pretty simple.”

He argued that military personnel “needed to hear this pretty basic message” given “who this president is and who the secretary of defense is.”

Despite the political blowback, Kelly said he would not stop speaking out. “I’m still going to do my job every single day regardless of whether this president wants to kill me, hang me, execute me or shut me up. I’m not going to shut up,” he said.

Senator Mark Kelly rejects court-martial prospect as ‘ridiculous proposition’

When asked whether he would file a lawsuit, Kelly reiterated that “litigation” was not typically how he operated. Still, he made it clear his legal team was ready to respond. “I’ve got a legal team that will respond to whether it’s DOD or DOJ forcefully, because they’re in the wrong here, and I think people know it,” he said.

He dismissed the effort as “ridiculous,” adding, “It’s kind of a ridiculous proposition that because of something I said, they want to either kill me or now prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

Illegal orders video triggers Trump’s seditious behavior allegation

The controversy began after Sen. Kelly, a retired Navy captain, joined several Democratic lawmakers in telling service members to refuse unlawful military orders. Trump quickly accused them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” and called for their execution on social media.

President Trump quickly accused Kelly and the other lawmakers of "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR" and called for their execution.

Days later, the Department of Defense, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, announced it was launching an inquiry into Kelly under 10 U.S.C. § 688.

Speaking at a Tucson town hall on Friday, Kelly said the probe violated the separation of powers. He described Trump and Hegseth as “not serious people” and predicted the effort would collapse. “Or he can try to prosecute me, but I’m not going away,” he said.