this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
461 points (99.8% liked)

News

33281 readers
1765 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The Pentagon says it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.

The Pentagon’s statement, which was posted on social media on Monday, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other measures. Kelly served in the U.S. Navy as a fighter pilot before going on to become an astronaut. He retired at the rank of captain.

It is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until the second Trump term has usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation.

top 41 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Senator Mark Kelly is 100% correct. Hegseth and his fucked up merry band of SS thugs are out of line with their BS.

[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

I'm not a law guy but I seriously doubt there is a military law that says it is illegal to say not to do illegal things

[–] riskable@programming.dev 153 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Let's look at the logic here: If we don't expect troops to defy illegal orders, that means some commanding officer could order his troops to kill the president 🤔

That's illegal but... The Trump administration thinks orders should be followed no matter what.

[–] tidderuuf@lemmy.world 38 points 2 days ago (1 children)

People were saying a similar thing about what Biden should do when we found out Trump won.

Looks like nothing happened so I can only assume the same result will be there and Trump will still chug a long until his fish o filet heart finally encrusts over.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Upvoted for "fish o filet" heart

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 139 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (6 children)

https://www.militarydefense.com/tag/ucmj-article-92/

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 92, service members are required to obey lawful orders. However, not all orders are lawful, and military law draws a clear distinction between orders that must be followed and those that must be refused.

An unlawful order is one that requires the commission of a criminal act or violates the Constitution, U.S. federal law, or applicable international law.

Examples of Unlawful Orders:

Targeting or intentionally harming civilians Torturing or abusing detainees Falsifying operational or legal records Engaging in unauthorized political or domestic law enforcement actions

[–] kata1yst@sh.itjust.works 63 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This UCMJ seems like woke propaganda!

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 33 points 2 days ago

This is a sentence in 2025.

[–] Ancalagon@lemmy.world 32 points 2 days ago (2 children)

What about blowing up boats in international waters cuz they have plant material I deem toxic.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 32 points 2 days ago

cuz we claim they have plant material

There's been zero evidence presented that the flimsy excuse for extrajudicial execution is even true.

[–] lectricleopard@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Not toxic. Terrifying. They are terrorists after all.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Important Note: All military orders are presumed lawful. The burden falls on the service member to establish that an order is manifestly unlawful. This is a high standard, and hesitation or refusal can carry serious consequences—even if ultimately justified.

Because of this legal complexity, service members should consult with legal counsel as soon as they suspect an order may be unlawful. Do not disobey an order without first seeking guidance from a qualified military attorney, unless the order is clearly illegal on its face (e.g., ordering you to shoot unarmed civilians).

Do understand that it's not an easy thing to do and that they will go through hell fighting the unlimited resources of the United States government defending themselves should they refuse orders.

[–] bold_atlas@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Then if shit gets real then we need to make sure the extrajudicial consequences for committing war crimes are way, way worse than spending some time at Leavenworth.

You may be untouchable behind that perimeter, with all that firepower, in your drone control box, with a thousand guys around you, but you'll have to go home sometime and the war will still be waiting for you there. That's the thing about civil wars.

[–] Jumbie@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago

Guarantee they change the UCMJ within the next few years.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Oh that last one, lol.

[–] AniZaeger@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I guess they better start court martialing every single drill sergeant, recruit division commander, military training instructor, and drill instructor currently serving, because I'm pretty sure that every single one has said the exact same thing to every one of their recruits.

Well, maybe they should be, because obviously the lessons must not be sticking if servicemen and women have to be reminded of their most basic lesson from training by senators.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 76 points 2 days ago

"Fascists Attempt To Prosecute Citizens For Supporting The Rule of Law"

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

How dare you follow the Constitution!

-- bleated the republikkkans

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 38 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Ok so they're investigating Mark Kelly because he might be treasonous?

Without even going into the benign and responsible content of his words, let's just talk about possible signs that you might be on the wrong side...

Again, they're questioning a retired Navy officer and NASA astronaut on his professional and patriotic integrity... Hmm

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 15 points 2 days ago

Without even going into the benign and responsible content of his words,

Right? And the Penty gets all riled up and barking at him. . .

...after the douchebag occupying the POTUS chair publicly made a literal death threat against our own countrymen for advising the military to. . . (Flips papers) " Not do illegal things if ordered to do illegal things.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 51 points 2 days ago (1 children)

“Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” Hegseth said on his personal X account. Of the wider group, he added that “their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger.”

Hmm. It would seem that if you're only giving blatantly lawful orders, this wouldn't sow doubt and confusion.

I forget what part of the constitution says that the government has carte blanche authority to airstrike random Columbians. Maybe that's what's sowing the doubt and confusion?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 2 days ago

I think they discredited it themselves when they put a Fox News talk show host in charge.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 55 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Kelly told troops “you can refuse illegal orders,” and other lawmakers said they needed troops to “stand up for our laws ... our Constitution.”

...

“Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” Hegseth added.

Days after the video was released, President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post.

...

Troops, especially uniformed commanders, do have a specific obligations to reject orders that are unlawful, if they make that determination.

So he told the troops to do things everyone agrees they are sworn to do, and Republicans complain he's bringing the military into disrepute and call for his imprisonment and execution, and the Dept of Defense (War?) then pursues ways to achieve this. I guess the USA isn't doing that whole constitution thing any more.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The sooner the majority of Americans realize that we are dealing with actual, real life traitors operating our federal government, the sooner we can deal with them.

I'm hoping that moment comes sooner than later, but I'm not crossing my fingers.

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Y'know when things were relatively less crazy with Russia, I remember lotsa military fiction (or maybe just Modern Warfare 1 idk) using "Russian Ultranationalists " as the "never-ending military bad guy goon-squad terrorist faction" that's okay to fight and kill in an entertainment product while still saying "Any resemblance is coincidental."

...My point is that the highest offices of the U.S are controlled by a US "ultranationalist" terrorist goon squad faction. They're such ridiculously overt bad guys that they'd be considered too outlandish for a Michael Bay movie.

...and everybody's like "Oh my! So shocking! Well, you know, this is just politics."

They just don't want to believe that a violent fringe cult is right there in front of them, ransacking and demolishing centuries of progress.

They must be stopped or they won't stop.

[–] logicbomb@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

For these types of stories, I always think of traffic laws and speed limits, specifically because most people are familiar with breaking those laws.

"The speed limit here is 30 miles per hour. You should not drive over the speed limit."

"We need to investigate this person because he is telling people to follow the law."

This reasoning is sort of unthinkable and unfair.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 days ago

That isn't even completely accurate, it's not that they can refuse unlawful orders, they are literally required to refuse them.

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago (1 children)

sounds like a nazi thing to do

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"I was just following orders"

[–] Furbag@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

"Good soldier. Now, here are your next set of orders: Stand right there on those gallows and put that noose around your neck."

That's what I hope they'll say to anyone who tries to use the Nuremberg Defense when they get prosecuted for blowing up civilian boats in international waters.

[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We need to investigate those in the Pentagon that are giving out illegal orders.

[–] ohshit604@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We need to investigate those in the Pentagon that are giving out illegal orders.

Something, something, we investigated ourselves and found no wrong doing?

[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Probably something Congress should be doing, but their record hasn't been too great this year.

[–] nulluser@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Funny how the administration keeps bringing this up in the news cycle, repeatedly reminding troops that they should not obey illegal orders. If they'd just ignored the video, everyone would have forgotten about it by now.

It's as if they either A) have never heard of the Streisand Effect, or B) are trying to distract everyone from something else.

Anyway, how about them Epstein Files?

[–] Jumbie@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 days ago

They keep bringing it up as a lesson to servicemen. “We can do it to this influential person so you don’t have a chance, young marine. Now attack those civilians.”

Senators: "Hey if your boss tells you to do something illegal you should not do it."

Trump administration:

[–] MourningDove@lemmy.zip 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

This is treason.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 12 points 2 days ago

They gonna find a way to kill these people

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

So they’re not investigating the guy who sucked off a horse being blackmailed by Putin?