Targeted by a sanctions procedure | Democratic senator files suit against Defense Secretary

(Washington) Democratic Senator Mark Kelly announced Monday that he was filing a complaint against the American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, after the latter initiated sanctions proceedings against this former navy pilot and astronaut for a video deemed “seditious”.

“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every member of the retired armed forces: if you speak out and say something that the president or the secretary of defense does not like, you will be subject to reprimand, the threat of demotion, or even prosecution,” adds this former fighter pilot in the US Navy, who was also a space shuttle pilot.

“Today I filed a complaint against the Secretary of Defense, because there are few things as important as vindicating the rights of the same Americans who fought to defend our freedoms,” said Mark Kelly.

Asked by AFP, the Department of Defense did not immediately respond.

Pete Hegseth, loyal ally of Donald Trump, announced last week that the Pentagon had launched administrative proceedings against the senator with a view to downgrading his rank to captain and thus his retirement pension. The announcement came a few weeks after the publication of a video that the secretary described as “seditious”.

In this video published in November, Democratic parliamentarians who served in the army or the intelligence services told the military and intelligence agents: “You can refuse illegal orders. »

“Today, threats against our Constitution do not only come from abroad, but also from here, at home,” they denounced.

The elected officials did not explicitly cite specific orders in their video, but it was published at a time of strong criticism of the Trump administration over the legality of American strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific against boats accused of participating in drug trafficking.

Their message angered the White House, and Donald Trump accused these elected Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” “.