Mark Kelly is not taking his punishment mendacity down.
Kelly — a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and NASA astronaut who presently serves as a U.S. Senator (D-Ariz.) — introduced immediately (Jan. 12) that he is suing the Pentagon and Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth over their plan to censure him for statements he made in a video late final 12 months.
“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned by my twenty-five years of army service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to carry him— and this or any administration — accountable,” Kelly stated in an X put up immediately. “His unconstitutional campaign in opposition to me sends a chilling message to each retired member of the army: for those who converse out and say one thing that the President or Secretary of Protection doesn’t like, you can be censured, threatened with demotion, and even prosecuted.”
Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned by my twenty-five years of army service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to carry him—and this or any administration—accountable. His unconstitutional…January 12, 2026
Mark Kelly is a former captain within the U.S. Navy who flew 39 fight missions in Operation Desert Storm. In late November, he and 5 different Congressmen with army or intelligence backgrounds put collectively a 90-second video reminding U.S. servicemembers to not obey unlawful orders.
President Donald Trump rapidly condemned the video as seditious, and the Pentagon introduced that it was investigating Kelly for potential misconduct.
Final week, Hegseth reported that the Division of Protection is taking “administrative motion” in opposition to the previous house shuttle astronaut.
“The division has initiated retirement grade dedication proceedings beneath 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with discount in his retired grade leading to a corresponding discount in retired pay,” Hegseth wrote through X on Jan. 5. “To make sure this motion, the Secretary of Warfare has additionally issued a proper Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a mandatory course of step, and will probably be positioned in Captain Kelly’s official and everlasting army personnel file.”
(In September, President Trump issued an govt order rebranding the Division of Protection because the Division of Warfare, however the former stays its official identify.)
Kelly has defended himself in opposition to such accusations and actions at each step, and his newly filed lawsuit takes the battle to a brand new stage.
“Each servicemember is aware of army rank is earned, not given. It is earned by the dangers you’re taking, the sacrifices you and your loved ones make, the management you show, and the respect you earn from the superiors who advocate you for promotion,” Kelly wrote in immediately’s X put up.
“Now, Pete Hegseth needs our longest-serving army veterans to stay with the fixed risk that they might be disadvantaged of their rank and pay years and even many years after they depart the army simply because he or one other Secretary of Protection would not like what they’ve stated. That is not the way in which issues work in america of America, and I will not stand for it,” he added.
The lawsuit, which was filed immediately in Washington, D.C., argues that the censure letter, retirement grade dedication course of and associated actions are “illegal and unconstitutional” for a wide range of causes.
“The First Modification forbids the federal government and its officers from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating in opposition to protected speech. That prohibition applies with explicit power to legislators talking on issues of public coverage,” it reads. “The Secretary’s letter makes clear on its face that he’s disciplining Senator Kelly solely for the content material and viewpoint of his political speech.”
