Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona has initiated a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging “unlawful and unconstitutional” retaliation. This legal action follows criticism from President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who accused Kelly of being a “seditious” figure and a “traitorous disgrace” to the military. These accusations arose after Kelly and fellow Democrats voiced their opposition to the administration’s deadly maritime operations targeting suspected drug traffickers in international waters. The administration also suggested reducing Kelly’s retirement pay as a consequence of his dissent.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, lists Hegseth, the Pentagon, the Navy, and Navy Secretary John Phelan as defendants. Kelly is seeking a judicial declaration that the administration’s actions are a violation of the First Amendment and the Speech or Debate Clause. The senator argues that military personnel have the right and duty to refuse illegal orders.

In mid-November, Kelly participated in a video message alongside five other Democratic lawmakers, addressing members of the military and intelligence communities. In his statement, Kelly emphasized that “our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”

The lawsuit argues that Kelly’s remarks were a straightforward interpretation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). According to the UCMJ, service members can be court-martialed for disobeying lawful orders, but it is a defense if the orders were known to be unlawful. The code clarifies that orders are presumed lawful unless they are “patently illegal,” such as those directing the commission of a crime.

Despite the clarity of the UCMJ, the lawsuit contends that Trump and Hegseth unjustly labeled Kelly as a traitor. Kelly, a retired Navy captain, has a distinguished military record, including over 25 years of service, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions during the Gulf War as a naval aviator, and commanding four space shuttle missions with NASA, including the final flight of the Endeavour.

Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r

— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025

Kelly’s suit stated that the senator was articulating a “plain statement of blackletter law” under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

“The UCMJ subjects service members to courts-martial if they ‘violate[] or fail[] to obey any lawful general order or regulation.’ The Rules for Courts-Martial therefore provide: ‘It is a defense to any offense that the accused was acting pursuant to orders unless the accused knew the orders to be unlawful or a person of ordinary sense and understanding would have known the orders to be unlawful,’” the lawsuit said. “The UCMJ underscores that, although orders from superior officers are presumed lawful, ‘[t]his inference does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime.’”

Despite this, the lawsuit went on, Trump and Hegseth “branded” Kelly as a traitor to the nation he served over 25 years “in multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions during the First Gulf War as a naval aviator, and four space shuttle flights at NASA, including commanding the final flight of Endeavour.”

First Trump responded on Truth Social by saying on Nov. 20 of the Democrats in the video, “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”

Then the president in follow-up posts added, “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” and “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

After Kelly responded by calling those remarks “dangerous,” noting that his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords survived a gunshot to the head and an “act of political violence” in 2011, the president again posted that the “TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW[.]”

Kelly’s suit, claiming he received “numerous death threats” in the aftermath of the president’s words, recounted that Hegseth then responded by calling him a part of the “Seditious Six” and opened an investigation into “serious allegations of misconduct” threatening “further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”

One week ago, the complaint went on, Hegseth stated in a “Secretarial Letter of Censure” that Kelly “undermined the chain of command,” “counseled disobedience,” and engaged in “conduct unbecoming an officer,” actions that could lead to a reduction in his retirement rank and pay grade 15 years after Kelly’s retirement.

These actions, and the additional threat of “criminal prosecution or further administrative action” if Kelly similarly speaks out again, “trample on protections the Constitution singles out as essential to legislative independence” and “raise serious constitutional concerns […] subject[ing] all of the nation’s retired veterans to an ever-present threat against their retirement,” the suit said, seeking permanent injunctive relief.

“The Constitution does not leave such injuries to be remedied after the fact. Speech or Debate, First Amendment, separation-of-powers, and due-process protections must be vindicated at the outset, before the Senator is forced to submit to an unconstitutional and legally baseless proceeding,” the lawsuit concluded.

Read the full complaint here.