Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit Jan. 12 against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, alleging unconstitutional retaliation over a November video in which Kelly told U.S. troops they “can” and “must” refuse unlawful orders from the Trump administration.
The lawsuit seeks to block Pentagon proceedings that could retroactively demote Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and reduce his military retirement pay.
In a 46-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Kelly argued Hegseth’s actions violate his First Amendment rights and the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which states that “for any Speech or Debate in either House, [members of Congress] shall not be questioned in any other Place.”
Kelly announced the lawsuit in a Jan. 12 post on X, calling the Pentagon’s move to censure him over the video an “unconstitutional crusade.”
“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to hold him — and this or any administration — accountable,” Kelly wrote.
The dispute centers on a November 2025 video that featured Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds telling service members they “can” and “must” refuse unlawful orders.
The video did not reference any specific directive, and critics said it encouraged insubordination and implied the Trump administration had issued or planned to issue illegal orders to the military.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers said in the video, adding that “the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.”
President Donald Trump and Hegseth quickly condemned the remarks as “seditious” and publicly called for the lawmakers’ arrest.
On Jan. 5, Hegseth announced the Department of War would formally censure Kelly and review his retirement grade under federal law. As CatholicVote reported, the process could demote Kelly from captain to commander and potentially reduce his monthly pension by roughly $1,000, from about $6,000.
As CatholicVote previously reported, Kelly is the only participant in the video who is subject to military law because he is officially retired. One of the other lawmakers in the video, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is a former CIA officer, while the remaining four Democrats previously served in the military but are not “retired,” placing them outside the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.
