Mark Kelly says Trump’s ‘seditious’ claims sparked renewed death threats against wife Gabby Giffords

PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Monday that his wife, Gabby Giffords, is facing a resurgence of death threats following recent comments by President Donald Trump.

“Gabby and I are no stranger to political violence. We get a lot of threats already,” Kelly told reporters during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. “She continues to get threats.”

Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman in 2011 outside of a grocery store in Tucson in an incident that killed six and injured 12 others.

“She gets threats on her life moreso today because of what Donald Trump said about me 10 days ago: that I should be hanged, that I should be executed,” Kelly added.

“We take these threats very seriously,” Kelly said, asking reporters how many times in the country’s history has a president called for Congressmen to be hanged and executed. “I mean, I can’t think of one.”

Why does Sen. Mark Kelly say President Donald Trump has issued death threats?

Kelly was referring to a series of posts President Donald Trump published on his Truth Social account in reaction to a 90-second video Kelly and several other Democratic lawmakers posted on Nov. 18 urging members of the U.S. military not to follow illegal orders.

One Nov. 20 post by Trump called the video “seditious behavior at the highest level” by “traitors,” and another said it was “punishable by death.”

Kelly slammed both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who revealed on social media last week that the Pentagon was investigating Kelly.

The Arizona Democrat said Hegseth’s decision to announce the probe on X, rather than through official channels, shows how “unserious” he is.

“Enough of the intimidation. Enough of the threats. Enough of your nonsense,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t help anyone in our country afford their groceries or pay their medical bills, and it erodes the rights of every American. My job is to fight for them, to stand up for the Constitution, and nothing, nothing is going to stop me from doing my job.”

What kinds of threats are Kelly and Gabby Giffords receiving?

After Trump’s posts, Kelly said threats against him and Giffords skyrocketed.

“Threatening calls that we get into our office have skyrocketed, and they were very graphic,” he told reporters.

He added that other Democratic lawmakers involved in the video have also received threats and posted them publicly. Although Kelly has not shared the specific threats, he said, “the ones we get are worse than that.”

He attributed the rising threats to Trump’s desire to silence dissent.

“That’s why he does these things. Because he thinks he can shut me up. I have First Amendment rights, I’m a U.S. senator, I’m doing my job,” Kelly said. “He ain’t gonna shut me up. I mean, he intimidates other people. I’m not intimidated by Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth or anyone else.”

Despite accusations of seditious behavior, Mark Kelly continues to speak out

Alongside the Pentagon, the FBI is investigating Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers over their video urging service members not to follow illegal orders.

Last week, Kelly explained the video was tied to strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean that he believed came “really close” to crossing into illegality.

However, more recently, he believes Trump’s actions could have crossed the line. He discussed new reports of a secondary military strike to kill suspected smugglers at sea — actions he suggested could amount to a war crime.

“I hope what has being reported is not accurate,” Kelly told reporters on Monday. “I will say, though, as someone who has sunk two sips myself, that folks in the military need to understand the law of the sea, the Geneva Convention, what the law says. … If there were, in fact, as reported, survivors clinging to a damaged vessel, that could be over a line.”

@ktarnews🚨BREAKING: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly holds a Capitol Hill press conference, speaking about President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s efforts to intimidate him.♬ original sound – KTAR News

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