‘Absolutely not’: Mark Kelly says he wouldn’t change troop message or ‘back down’ after censure

Sen. Mark Kelly said he would “absolutely not” have changed his message to U.S. troops about not following illegal orders, despite now knowing that it would result in a censure.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth censured Kelly, a Democrat of Arizona and retired captain in the U.S. Navy, on Monday for “conduct [that] was seditious in nature,” referring to a video Kelly participated in in November that told United States service members they have a right to refuse unlawful orders.

As a military retiree, Kelly is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and potentially subject to discipline, including being called back to active service to face charges.

Hegseth alleged that Kelly “counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders” in the video. Kelly and others who participated in the video have disputed that claim. 

“Let me make this perfectly clear, though, Gabby and I are not people that back down,” Kelly said on Tuesday during an appearance with his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, on “Good Morning America.” “From anything, from any kind of fight.”

The administrative action, which is a less consequential action than a court-martial, will result in a reduction in rank and Kelly’s retirement pay, a process Hegseth says will take 45 days. 

The video prompted fierce criticism from President Donald Trump, who called it “seditious behavior” and said the Democrats involved — who previously served in the military or in the intelligence community — should be “in jail.”

Kelly, who sits on the Senate’s Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said in the interview that aired on “GMA” on Tuesday that his original message was intended to be “nonpartisan.”

He said he would have expected the president to agree with his statements, describing a potential presidential response, saying, “Of course, you don’t follow illegal orders.”

“But not this guy,” Kelly said, referencing Trump, “because he looks at this as maybe somehow as a threat to his authority.”

Kelly and the other five Democrats involved in the November video directed at military members have defended their message as being in line with the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Constitution.

At one point after the original message was posted, Trump said their action could be “punishable by death.” He also shared a social media post calling for participants in the video to be hanged. But he later said, “I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble.”

“I said something the president and Pete Hegseth did not like and, because of that, the president said I should be hanged, I should be prosecuted,” Kelly said on “GMA” on Tuesday. “This is un-American and this sends a chilling message.”

On Monday, Kelly said he will fight any punishment.

“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly, in an interview on “The Daily Show,” said he might be able to file an appeal with the military over the changes to his retirement. He also raised the prospect of filing a federal lawsuit, saying he would do “everything appropriate in this circumstance to make sure that they know this is unacceptable.” 

ABC News’ David Brennan, Chris Boccia and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.