WASHINGTON — US Senator Mark Kelly will “seriously consider” running for president in 2028, as the Arizona Democrat battles the Trump administration over a video in which he urged military personnel to refuse illegal orders.The Arizona senator, who was accused of “seditious behavior” by Donald Trump over the November clip, said he and his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, received “many” death threats after the president’s comments.”We get them on a weekly basis now,” he told BBC Newsnight. “We had to get security to protect us 24 hours a day.”Asked if he was considering a White House run, the retired Navy captain said he was considering it “because we’re in some seriously challenging times”.The 61-year-old, who is a former astronaut, noted he was very different from most senators.”I’m one of the very few engineers, I’m the only person with a graduate degree in engineering the United States Senate. I’ve got combat experience, that’s kind of rare. I spent 25 years in the military,” he said.He added: “It’s a serious decision. I just haven’t made it yet.”Kelly, 61, and five other lawmakers, who had all either served in the military or had roles in intelligence, have been targeted by the government after they published a 90-second video encouraging troops to disobey orders they deemed illegal.It was released at the time of rising questions of the legality regarding American strikes on alleged narco-trafficking boats off the coast of South America.The Pentagon has since tried in vain to demote his military rank and a grand jury have declined to charge him with seditious conspiracy.On Thursday,federal judge Judge Richard J Leon ordered the Defense Department to halt pending disciplinary proceedings against Kelly, saying the retired Navy captain’s right to free speech was under attack by the Trump administration.Leon, an appointee of Republican President George W Bush, issued a forceful rebuke, accusing the Trump administration of trying to stifle veterans’ free speech rights.He directed much of his ruling at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a senior Trump official who announced on January 5 that Kelly would be censured for what he characterised as “seditious” statements.“Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired service members, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired service members have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years,” Leon wrote.But Kelly said he expected Trump to continue his legal action against him.He added: “This is not going to end by me going away. I’m going to continue to fight this thing even if it goes all the way to the Supreme Court.”Critics of the Trump administration have called the government’s crackdown on the six lawmakers an attack on free speech and said it was another instance of the president seeking to punish those he perceives as political enemies.Kelly said the death threats he received were also aimed at his wife Giffords, who was nearly assassinated as a member of Congress in 2011 when she was shot in the head.”Donald Trump, is so reckless about what he says,” he said. “There are folks out there that, you know, react to what he said and people listen to him.” — Agencies
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