WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly claimed that President Donald Trump is sending a “message” that Americans cannot criticize their government — as the Pentagon last week launched an investigation into the Arizona Democrat that could include recalling him to active duty to face a court-martial.
Retired U.S. Navy Captain Kelly said at a press conference on Capitol Hill on December 1: “They are trying to send this message to retired military personnel, government employees, military personnel, elected officials and all Americans who want to speak out: You better shut up or else.”
The Pentagon announced last week that it was investigating “allegations of serious misconduct” against Kelly. Previously, Kelly joined a group of Democratic lawmakers who released a video telling military members they had the right to disobey orders they deemed illegal.
Trump’s Army Department confirmed in a post on The post cited the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the federal law that outlines the military’s criminal code.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2025.
However, Kelly said at a news conference that the Trump administration’s public comments were “the only notification we have received to date about a potential court martial.” Legal and military experts told USA TODAY the case against Kelly faces significant obstacles and is likely to be “dead on arrival” at a court-martial.
“This is a dangerous moment for the United States of America, with the president and his loyalists using every tool in their power to silence those U.S. senators who dare to speak out,” Kelly said.
The FBI last week also requested interviews with the Arizona senator and five other Democratic members of Congress involved in the video.
Shortly after the video was released, Trump accused Democratic lawmakers in a series of social media posts of “sedition punishable by death!” He later told Fox News that he didn’t think the lawmakers should be executed, but warned they were in “serious trouble.”
Referring to Trump’s original social media posts in the video, Kelly claimed the president “has no respect for the rule of law.” But the senator also said he did not plan to sue Trump over his public criticism.
Kelly says Hegseth should testify on Venezuela attacks
Kelly also criticized recent U.S. attacks on suspected drug-trafficking ships, following reports that the U.S. military attacked a ship in the Caribbean and killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage.
Kelly said Congress was briefed on the first three attacks. But members of the Senate Armed Services Committee claimed officials were “at their wits’ end trying to explain why the entire operation was legal.”
He said he hopes officials involved in the strike will come before the committee to lay out legal arguments to the American public, including addressing concerns about due process, a guarantee guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Trump administration is facing heightened scrutiny from a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the wake of the latest attacks, even as the president’s allies say the effort is in the interest of national security.
“If anyone needs to answer questions publicly under oath, it’s Pete Hegseth,” Kelly said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sen. Mark Kelly calls Trump and Pentagon investigations ‘dangerous moment’
