WASHINGTON, D.C. (KGUN) — Sen. Mark Kelly (D‑Ariz.) today accused president Donald Trump of using intimidation to silence critics, called for investigations into Department of Defense actions, and vowed not to be deterred after what he described as death threats and an effort to trigger a court‑martial by tweet.
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Speaking to reporters, Kelly said the administration’s response to a video he and other former military and intelligence officials released — urging service members to refuse illegal orders — exposed a pattern of intimidation. “President Trump is trying to silence me, threatening to kill me for saying what is true,” Kelly said, adding that the president had “sent his Secretary of Defense after me.” He identified the defense secretary by name and said he learned of a potential court‑martial through a social‑media post from that official.
Kelly, a retired Navy astronaut, said the video was a straightforward reminder that service members must obey the law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He said the appropriate presidential response would have been brief support for the rule of law, but instead Trump publicly called for the arrest and execution of lawmakers who appeared in the message. “How many times in our country’s history have you heard a president of the United States say that members of the Senate and the House should be hanged and executed?” Kelly asked, saying such rhetoric has led to a sharp uptick in violent, graphic threats against him and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt.
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