In a video posted to social media in November, senator and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly encouraged members of the military to “refuse illegal orders.”
The 90-second video,which was put together by Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, was part of a broader objection to controversial US military operations against Venezuela, which have since turned from attacks on individual boats into an invasion, including strikes on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and the kidnapping of its president Nicolás Maduro.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth was outraged after the video was published, accusing Kelly of “seditious behavior.” President Donald Trump piled on by warning that such behavior is “punishable by death” and implying that figures like Kelly could be hanged.
While Hegseth has yet to make good on his previous threat of “court-martial proceedings” — which would see Kelly be put into active service to prosecute him in military court, per the Wall Street Journal — he announced last week that Kelly would be demoted and that his retirement pay would be significantly cut as a result.
Now Kelly is fighting back. He filed a lawsuit against Hegseth today, accusing him of violating the US Constitution.
“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military,” Kelly said in a statement. “If you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
Kelly was an aviator for the US Navy for decades and flew 39 combat missions before becoming a NASA astronaut. He flew on three NASA Space Shuttle missions in the early 2000s and retired from the agency after his wife, former Arizona representative Gabby Giffords, was shot and almost killed in a 2011 assassination attempt. Kelly and Giffords have since become outspoken advocates for tougher gun control.
“Pete Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years or even decades after they leave the military just because he or another Secretary of Defense doesn’t like what they’ve said,” Kelly added. “That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it.”
The original video that kicked off the stand-off was designed to remind soldiers that they didn’t have to follow unconstitutional orders.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the Democratic lawmakers said in the video. “Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution.”
After Hegseth called the video “despicable, reckless, and false,” Kelly denied he did anything wrong.
“In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets,” he said in a November statement. “At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia.”
“I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much,” he added. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
Nobody knows how Kelly’s lawsuit against Hegseth will play out — but considering the stakes involved and Hegseth’s sheer amount of influence in the White House, it could turn into an ugly and drawn-out legal battle.
More on the fight: Former Astronaut Fires Back After Trump Threatens Him With Execution
