Hegseth probes Mark Kelly over military video amid

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the association of medals on Sen. Mark Kelly’s uniform on Tuesday, which appeared in a picture he shared on his X account the day before. Hegseth launched an investigation into the previous fighter pilot, astronaut, and Navy captain after he joined 5 other Democratic lawmakers in posting a video reminding service members they “can refuse illegal orders.”

The particular unlawful orders Kelly referenced remained unclear, though some observers speculated he was alluding to both the Trump administration’s covert, lethal strikes on Caribbean vessels without Congressional authorization, and its deployment of federal forces to Democratic cities under doubtful or misleading claims of excessive violence.

Echoing the president’s rhetoric, Hegseth on Tuesday branded the video message as seditious, though he fell short of Donald Trump‘s assertion that it was “punishable by DEATH.” Instead, persevering with his obsession with the visible presentation of military parts, he criticized Kelly’s medals as being “out of order and rows reversed.”

“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order and discipline…but you can’t even display your uniform correctly,” the previous Fox News host posted on X in response to Kelly’s picture. “When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.”

The six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video encouraging U.S. troops to defy “illegal orders” have been contacted by the FBI to organize interviews, indicating a potential investigation into the matter, as reported by The Associated Press.

This could possibly be the second probe associated to the video, following the Pentagon’s announcement under Hegseth that it was analyzing Kelly for attainable breaches of military law.

In the video, Kelly suggested troops that “you can refuse illegal orders,” while other lawmakers – all veterans of the armed providers and intelligence group – urged U.S. troops to “stand up for our laws … our Constitution.”

Troops, notably uniformed commanders, have particular duties to reject illegal orders if they make that willpower. However, the U.S. military legal code will penalize troops for not following a lawful order.

Collectively, these investigations signify an extraordinary escalation for federal law enforcement and military establishments that usually keep away from partisan disputes. They also spotlight the administration’s readiness to push legal boundaries against its critics, even when they’re sitting members of Congress.

Legislators in the footage encourage service members to refuse any illegal instructions from their commanders, which they’re already obligated to do.

“It wasn’t that there was any one incident, it was the sheer number of people coming to us and saying, ‘I’m worried. I am being sent to Washington, or I’m being sent to LA or Chicago, North Carolina now, and I’m concerned I’m going to be asked to do something that I don’t know if I should do,” said Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a former intelligence analyst who also appeared in the video.

Hegseth, chosen by Trump to head the Pentagon during his second administration, confronted intense criticism from fellow military officers even prior to his affirmation listening to in January – including from Kelly himself. In an opinion piece revealed by Military Times on Jan. 14, Kelly and Sen. Tammy Duckworth wrote that it was “extremely unclear” if Hegseth “has the experience and judgment required to walk into a room of anyone from cadets to foreign military leaders and earn their respect and trust.

“One fast look at his resume and considerations over his lack of expertise and {qualifications} grow to be apparent,” the senators wrote.

“While we respect his service in the Army Reserve and National Guard, he didn’t rise to a command place where he would be taught the management, joint forces operations, logistics, and other expertise related to the position he is up for now. He never commanded a job drive or a detachment – nothing close to the dimensions or scope of the three million people who make up the DOD,” they added.

“These military experiences aren’t necessities for the job, but his civilian management expertise isn’t just restricted; it’s also fraught with evidence that he isn’t an efficient or trusted chief,” they continued.

“He financially mismanaged two veterans political organizations, with his employees alleging that he misused funds, was regularly drunk in entrance of them and fostered an surroundings where inappropriate harassment was an issue. He spent the last seven years as a Fox News host, where his alcohol consumption was also a concern among his co-workers. We wouldn’t tolerate this variety of reckless habits from recruits – there’s completely zero purpose we should always tolerate it from the person who is meant to be their chief.”

During his investigation of Kelly, an individual who seemed to openly challenge Hegseth in last week’s footage and in the January editorial piece, Hegseth appeared to continue a suspected pattern of utilizing his department to go after people whom he may have believed had personally wronged him. Pentagon officials previously alleged that Hegseth jeopardized national security protocols by permitting his third wife to participate in his ongoing conflict with media members.

Soon after assuming his role, he and fellow Fox host Jennifer Rauchet allegedly demanded that an NBC News reporter be banned from the Pentagon, seemingly as retaliation for her reporting on Hegseth’s purportedly abusive history.

While the directive was rejected, he allegedly brought Rauchet into a confidential meeting where they explored additional methods to obstruct journalists, a decision his associates described to The New York Times as “unusual and inappropriate.”

Hegseth has frequently demonstrated preoccupation with the visual presentation of components within his department, even commissioning a makeup studio to be constructed inside the Pentagon and establishing guidelines for which nail polish shades are permissible for Army personnel.

He additionally mandated the rebranding of specific military ships that had previously honored civil rights pioneers and sought to rebrand the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” initiatives that correspond with his goal to reinstate a “warrior ethos” he claims has disappeared from the military.

Kelly, responding to death threats from the president and the subsequent probes into his video statement, declared that he will not be coerced into surrender. “If this is supposed to intimidate other members of Congress and me from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it will not work,” he penned above a photo of his medals on X.

“I’ve given an excessive amount of to this nation to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own energy than defending the Constitution.”