CNBC
cnbc.com › 2026 › 01 › 05 › pentagon-mark-kelly-video-hegseth.html
Pentagon to cut Sen. Mark Kelly's military retirement pay over 'seditious' video: Hegseth
1 week ago - Sen. Mark Kelly and other members of Congress on the video reminded members of the U.S. military that they can refuse to follow illegal orders.
Fox News
foxnews.com › politics › hegseth-moves-censure-sen-mark-kelly-review-his-retirement-rank-pay-over-seditious-video
Hegseth moves to censure Sen Mark Kelly, review his retirement rank and pay over 'seditious video'
Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, urged troops to refuse "illegal orders" in a viral video.
Published 2 weeks ago
Sen. Mark Kelly - “I’m Not Backing Down” | The Daily Show
He's a far greater American than anyone in this current administration could ever dream to be More on reddit.com
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1 week agoHow is Mark Kelly's video wrong when the Sec. of Defense recently said he would not follow the rules of engagement?
OP is asking THE RIGHT to directly respond to the question. Anyone not of the demographic may reply to the direct response comments as per rule 7 Please report bad faith commenters & rule violators It’s 2pm on my hump day, don’t reply to my mod post about your politics . I’m trying to keep it together like a wobbly Jell-O salad. More on reddit.com
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November 26, 2025Videos
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Sen. Mark Kelly SUES Trump’s War Chief Hegseth Over Military ...
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Sen. Kelly defends lawsuit against Secretary Hegseth in Senate ...
10:06
Mark Kelly speaks out on Senate floor: 'I will not stand for it' ...
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Sen. Mark Kelly responds to Hegseth's Pentagon censure process: ...
“In some ways, maybe I hurt his ego in a way that he now is ...
NYTimes
nytimes.com › u.s. › politics
Hegseth Starts Proceedings Against Sen. Mark Kelly Over His Remarks - The New York Times
2 weeks ago - Hegseth said in a speech to the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley in 2016. “That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief.” · In the video that prompted Mr. Hegseth and President Trump’s ire, Mr. Kelly said: “Our laws are clear.
BBC
bbc.com › news › articles › cp8039wg1rdo
Pentagon moves to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over 'seditious video'
2 weeks ago - "Senator Mark Kelly - and five other members of Congress - released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.
C-SPAN
c-span.org › event › news-conference › sen-mark-kelly-holds-news-conference-on-military-orders › 438544
Sen. Mark Kelly Holds News Conference on Military Orders | Video | C-SPAN.org
December 1, 2025 - Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) holds a news conference on President Trump's military orders and a video message from Democrats like Sen. Kelly reminding troops to not follow illegal orders.
PBS NewsHour
pbs.org › newshour › politics › the-defense-department-is-investigating-kelly-over-the-illegal-orders-video-experts-doubt-they-can-actually-prosecute-him
WATCH: 'I am not going to be silenced.' Sen. Kelly denounces 'bullying' by Trump, Hegseth | PBS News
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon's investigation of Sen. Mark Kelly over a video that urges American troops to defy "illegal orders" has raised a slew of questions, and some criticism, from legal experts.
Published December 1, 2025
BBC
bbc.com › news › articles › cq8dqqddpe8o
Fallout from 'illegal orders' video escalates battle with Democrats over US patriotism
On Monday morning, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon was investigating whether Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, one of the six, had violated military law by participating in the video. The retired Navy captain, combat pilot and astronaut could theoretically be recalled to active duty to face court martial or administrative measures.
Published November 26, 2025
YouTube
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Mark Kelly: My job is to raise concerns about military - YouTube
CNN video PO-76MO
Published 4 days ago
Instagram
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We want to speak directly to members of the Military and ...
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YouTube
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Sen. Mark Kelly censured by Secretary of Defense over video - YouTube
Sen. Mark Kelly was censured by the Secretary of Defense over video urging military members to refuse illegal orders.
Published 2 weeks ago
OPB
opb.org › article › 2025 › 11 › 25 › pentagon-investigates-sen-mark-kelly-over-illegal-orders-video
Pentagon investigates Sen. Mark Kelly for telling troops to refuse ‘illegal orders’ - OPB
November 25, 2025 - Mark Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy ... of military law after he appeared in a video with other Democratic lawmakers urging active duty military and intelligence personnel to refuse “illegal orders.”...
Military.com
military.com › daily-news › 2025 › 11 › 25 › military-veterans-call-out-trump-hegseth-and-pentagon-new-video.html
Military Veterans Call Out Trump, Hegseth and Pentagon in New Video | Military.com
November 26, 2025 - Ten military veterans of different service and rank have made their own video in support of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his congressional colleagues who are caught in a back-and-forth with the Pentagon after urging active-duty members to ignore illegal orders.
PBS NewsHour
pbs.org › newshour › politics › watch-white-house-supports-pentagon-probe-of-sen-kelly-after-video-urging-troops-to-defy-illegal-orders
WATCH: White House supports Pentagon probe of Sen. Kelly after video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders' | PBS News
“I think what Sen. Mark Kelly was actually trying to do is intimidate the 1.3 million active duty members serving in our United States armed forces with that video that he and his Democrat colleagues put out,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Published November 24, 2025
NPR
npr.org › 2026 › 01 › 05 › nx-s1-5667080 › mark-kelly-pete-hegseth-pentagon-military-rank-retirement
Sen. Mark Kelly fires back after Hegseth threatens his rank and retirement pay
2 weeks ago - Kelly held the event to address what he described as intimidating actions by President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, following the release of a video in which Kelly and several lawmakers urge U.S. troops to refuse "illegal orders."
YouTube
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FULL REMARKS: Mark Kelly reacts to censure from Pete Hegseth - YouTube
CNN videos PO-84TU, PO-85TU, PO-86TU
Published 1 week ago
Reddit
reddit.com › r › Military › comments › 1qb3z7b › sen_mark_kelly_sues_hegseth_to_block_move_to_cut
Sen. Mark Kelly sues Hegseth to block move to cut rank ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/videos › sen. mark kelly - “i’m not backing down” | the daily show
r/videos on Reddit: Sen. Mark Kelly - “I’m Not Backing Down” | The Daily Show
1 week ago - Robin Kelly on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem: "I rise today to announce I will be impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Secretary Noem has violated the Constitution and needs to be held accountable for terrorizing our communities." ... Reddit's main subreddit for videos. Please read the sidebar below for our rules. ... MARK RUFFALO: "I gotta be honest, I'm not feeling so great.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askpolitics › how is mark kelly's video wrong when the sec. of defense recently said he would not follow the rules of engagement?
r/Askpolitics on Reddit: How is Mark Kelly's video wrong when the Sec. of Defense recently said he would not follow the rules of engagement?
November 26, 2025 -
I am sure most people here are familiar with the unfolding controversy over Mark Kelly's recent video stating that soldiers can disobey illegal orders, with Hegseth having just ordered an investigation of the issue: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/nov/25/us-politics-pam-bondi-appeal-james-comey-letitia-james-cases-donald-trump-venezuela-latest-updates
What I want to understand is what reason anyone has why this kind of statement is wrong or unreasonable to make, when the Secretary of Defense, Hegseth himself, just recently stated his intent to not follow rules of engagement.
You can read his full speech here: https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4318689/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-addresses-general-and-flag-officers-at-quantico-v/
But I am referring to this excerpt:
>War is something you do sparingly on our own terms and with clear aims. We fight to win. We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy.
We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country.
The US Marine Corps describes the Rules of Engagement as "those directives that delineate the circumstances and limitations under which United States (US) forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement." It is a subset of the law of war. See here: https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/TBS/B130936%20Law%20of%20War%20and%20Rules%20Of%20Engagement.pdf
He does not say he's going to change the rules of engagement. He simply says they're not going to fight with them. So it seems this is an unambiguous announcement of intent to issue illegal orders. Why then would it be wrong, let alone illegal, for a representative to say that soldiers can and should disobey illegal orders?
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Technical point (the best kind of point?): you're getting a bit mixed up as to the relationship between the Laws of Warfare (LoW) and Rules of Engagement (RoE) here OP. Laws of Warfare are international laws designed to prohibit atrocities when nations are engaged in wars. Rules of Engagement are entirely self created by the DoD/US and are a set of internal rules that set the standard on what troops are allowed to do. Key distinction: Laws of Land Warfare are international law. Rules of Engagement are limits we voluntarily place on ourselves. So when Hegseth said "we also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement" he means we're not going to limit ourselves in ways that don't make any sense. He didn't say or mean that we're going to start ignoring the Laws of Land Warfare. As an example: In the Vietnam war, significant limitations were placed on the ability to attack targets in Hanoi even though the LoW would state that these are perfectly legitimate targets. We established RoE against attacking them for political reasons. As a more contemporary example. RoE in Iraq could say "under no circumstance are you allowed to shoot at a target until you are first fired upon." Under that kind of RoE a military convoy in the middle of the desert, where no civilians live, could in theory see a road-block with armed people in defensive fighting positions set up ahead of them, and they would have to either stop and seek legal permission to violate the RoE or continue to drive towards that ambush until they were shot at. This is the kind of stupid rule of engagement that Hegseth is talking about. To repeat my earlier line: the meaning of his words was not that we're going to fight with zero RoE or ignore the LoW. His message was that we're not going to self-impose dumb rules on the troops.
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Did he say they’re not going to fight with any rules of engagement or with stupid ones? If it’s “stupid ones”, then it would depend on which ones are considered stupid and whether those specific ones are legally binding in the US as to whether he’s giving an illegal order. The US has changed ROE numerous times. For instance, the US is legally bound by the 1949 Geneva Protocol and the 2005 Additional Protocol III. Both were signed and ratified. But the 1977 Protocols I and II were never ratified and therefore not legally binding (although we use some of their principles). International law is irrelevant if it hasn’t been ratified in some way to make it legally binding, so it really depends what specific rule is in question at the time. Soldiers do have a right to refuse orders they consider illegal. Of course, they can be punished for it and would have to successfully defend their actions in court or be held responsible for insubordination or other crimes.
Axios
axios.com › 2025 › 11 › 24 › sen-mark-kelly-facing-military-investigation-after-clashing-with-trump
Sen. Mark Kelly facing military investigation after clashing with Trump
November 24, 2025 - — a retired naval officer who ... Why it matters: Kelly is part of a group of Democratic lawmakers who last week posted a video calling on military service members to disobey unlawful orders....
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Defense Department investigating Sen. Mark Kelly after video message to military - YouTube
The Pentagon indicated Monday that it's investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former U.S. Navy Captain, after he and a group of other lawmak...
Published November 24, 2025