Senator Mark Kelly – whose wife, Gabrielle Giffords, narrowly survived an attempted assassination while she was in Congress in 2011 – says he is worried about “increased threats” to his family’s safety after Donald Trump accused him and other Democratic lawmakers of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH”.
“This kind of language is dangerous, and it’s wrong,” Kelly said on Friday on MS NOW’s Morning Joe, with political violence one of the top topics in the US’s public discourse. He continued: “I’m not going to get into my specific security arrangements, but it would be irresponsible for me not to consider that [Trump’s] words result in increased threats to myself, even to my staff, to my family.
“It would be a rather irresponsible thing for us not to consider this seriously.”
The Arizona senator’s remarks came after he appeared in a video on Tuesday alongside five other federal Democratic lawmakers who have previously served in the military or in intelligence roles – and who all told active US service members that they should refuse illegal orders.
“Our laws are clear,” the senators and US House members in question say in the video. “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”
Trump reacted furiously to the video, writing on his Truth Social platform that Kelly and the others had engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH”. The president also reposted another Truth Social user who wrote, in part, “HANG THEM”.
Active military members in the US – whose oath is to the constitution rather than the president – can indeed face execution for the crime of sedition. Civilians, meanwhile, can be fined and imprisoned for up to 20 years for seditious conspiracy.
The US Manual for Courts-Martial in any event states that the military requirement to obey orders “does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime”.
Generally, allies of Trump have supported his response while his philosophical opponents have lambasted it.
Kelly on Friday criticized Trump by alluding to how Giffords – whom he married in 2007 – was seriously injured in a January 2011 shooting at a constituent meeting in Tucson in which six people died.
He also referred to the two assassination attempts Trump survived while successfully running for a second presidency in 2024. Those attempts on Trump’s life preceded the firebombing of the official residence of the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, the fatal shooting of the former Minnesota state house speaker Melissa Hortman and the slaying of the conservative political activist Charlie Kirk – all between April and September.
“My family has suffered from political violence,” Kelly said on Morning Joe. “My wife … was nearly assassinated – shot in the head at a political event. We have rising political violence in this country, even the president – two assassination attempts. He should understand that.”
The retired astronaut and US navy member won his Senate seat in November 2020, when Trump’s first presidency ended in defeat to Joe Biden.
Trump addressed his supporters before a 6 January 2021 congressional session meant to certify Biden’s victory and – among other things – told them to “fight like hell”.
Many of Trump’s supporters then attacked the US Capitol while unsuccessfully demanding the hanging of his vice-president at the time, Mike Pence, who had indicated he intended to fulfill his duty of overseeing the certification of Biden’s election win.
The attack on Congress – which was linked to several deaths, including the suicides of law enforcement officers who defended the building – delayed the certification session by several hours but ultimately did not impede Biden’s presidency.
Then in January, in one of his first acts after retaking the Oval Office, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all linked to the Capitol attack.
Kelly on Friday said Trump’s “words have significant weight with the American people”.
“People react to things that he … says,” Kelly added.
The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
Secure Messaging in the Guardian app
The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.
SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post
If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.
