Sen. Mark Kelly: Death Threats Have Risen Since Trump Called for Execution

Sen. Mark Kelly says threats against him and his wife, Gabby Giffords, have risen since former President Trump publicly urged the execution of several Democratic lawmakers after a video urged service members to refuse unlawful orders. Kelly told reporters the number of threats has increased but declined to discuss specific security steps. The Pentagon announced it is investigating "serious allegations of misconduct" following the video, which featured Kelly and several other Democratic lawmakers. Kelly said the video stemmed from years of rhetoric rather than a single event and recounted learning of the president's comments while in a secure briefing room.

08:08 AM, 12/02/2025Politics

Sen. Mark Kelly said Monday that threats against him and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, have increased since former President Donald Trump publicly urged that Kelly and several other Democratic lawmakers be executed. The remarks followed a video in which the lawmakers urged service members to refuse unlawful orders; the Pentagon has announced an inquiry into the matter.

Speaking to reporters, Kelly said the uptick in threats has been noticeable. "I'm no stranger — Gabby and I are no stranger to political violence. We get a lot of threats already. She continues to get threats. She has threats on her life, more so today, because of what Donald Trump said about me 10 days ago," he said when asked whether he had increased his security.

"The threats on us have obviously gone up. We take these threats very seriously, and I take the threats from this president seriously."

Kelly declined to detail any specific security measures. He also said he has not received private outreach from the Department of Defense or other administration officials beyond public social media posts from the Pentagon and from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing an investigation.

The Defense Department said it is reviewing what it described as "serious allegations of misconduct" involving Kelly, a retired Navy captain, after the video circulated. Kelly appeared in the video alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Democratic Reps. Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow.

Kelly said the video was not prompted by recent targeted strikes against drug traffickers at sea but reflected concerns shaped by years of presidential rhetoric. "It wasn't about this specific event," he said, adding that he was surprised the president responded at all given the group had released a similar video previously.

He recounted learning of Trump's call for his execution while seated beside Sen. Slotkin in a secure briefing room. An aide passed Slotkin a note; she left the room and returned minutes later to tell Kelly that Trump had also publicly called for her execution. "That was not the response we expected," he said.

Kelly emphasized that he and his family take the threats seriously and will continue to treat security concerns with urgency.