Hegseth Helps Trump Take Revenge on Democrats for Message to Troops

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are looking to potentially court-martial Senator Mark Kelly for joining a video message with Democratic congressional veterans reminding soldiers that they can reject illegal orders.

“The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.). In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” Trump’s Defense Department wrote on X Monday.

“The Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject to the UCMJ for applicable offenses, and federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 2387 prohibit actions intended to interfere with the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces,” the statement continued. “Any violations will be addressed through appropriate legal channels.… A servicemember’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order.”

“The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false,” Hegseth later wrote on his personal X account. “Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion—which only puts our warriors in danger.”

This is an extreme response to a video that was very tame, measured, and rooted in the military’s own words.

“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” Kelly said in the clip, along with Senator Elissa Slotkin and Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Chrissy Houlahan—all former military or intelligence veterans. “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”

Last week, Trump called for their executions for reciting this basic military creed. On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added more fuel to the fire.

This is purely retaliatory. Trump has used the military in an alarming way, pitting it against American citizens as he’s released them into the city streets.

And while Kelly has yet to respond, the move has been met with disdain from those who agreed with Kelly’s original statement.

“Court [martialed] by the Department of Defense for saying what the UCMJ clearly states,’ one user wrote. “Political persecution at its finest.”

“Mark Kelly said troops should not follow illegal orders. And you’re saying you’re not giving any illegal orders,” wrote another. “So what exactly is the issue with what Mark Kelly said?”

Next steps for both Kelly and the Defense Department are still unclear at this point.

Donald Trump’s revenge prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey—and New York Attorney General Letitia James—have been thrown out of court.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled Monday that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience prior to this role, was improperly appointed by the Trump administration, agreeing with Comey’s defense team. The ruling means that the federal indictments of Comey and James are dismissed.

“Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025,” Currie wrote in her opinion. “All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment … constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside.”

The judge tossed the case “without prejudice,” meaning Trump could try to bring forward the cases again on the same charges. Halligan received her job after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, was pushed out of the role for refusing to prosecute Comey and James.

Comey was facing charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, but even aside from Halligan’s appointment, the indictment was full of flaws, leading U.S. District Judge William Fitzpatrick to take the rare and unusual step of allowing Comey’s legal team to review grand jury materials. James was charged with mortgage fraud, but Trump officials appear to have obtained her records illegally, resulting in several Fannie Mae employees being fired simply for doing their jobs and trying to protect her personal information.

Both cases seem to be clear examples of Trump targeting his political enemies, as Comey was on his bad side for investigating Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and James successfully prosecuted Trump for financial fraud in 2024. Will Trump try to bring back the charges and risk losing again, or has he learned his lesson?

This story has been updated.

Federal immigration agents detained a 17-year-old Oregon high school student during his lunch break on Friday by breaking his car window. 

Christian Jimenez of Newberg, Oregon, was driving his father’s car at 12:30 p.m. Friday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped him off-campus, his older brother Cesar Jimenez told Oregon Live. The young Jimenez told the agents that he was a U.S. citizen, but an officer said, “I don’t care” and told him to “get out of the car” as they broke the car window and arrested him. 

He was then taken to ICE’s facility in Portland and wasn’t released until just before 7 p.m. that day. According to his brother, Jimenez now faces charges of “interference or obstruction of investigation.” 

Unidos Bridging Community, an immigrant rights organization, said that Jimenez was one of four U.S. citizens detained by ICE in the Portland area last week, including two people recording ICE arrests. Hundreds of people in McMinnville came out to protest on Jimenez’s behalf on Saturday, waving signs. 

“A 17-year-old minor being abducted in broad daylight—whether people agree with that or not, it’s just unacceptable,” local resident Abraham Mejia, attending his first-ever protest, told TV station KGW. “It hits home, and it makes you feel almost fueled that you need to do something about it, and that’s why I’m here today.”

Federal agents have been arresting U.S. citizens for months under the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda and lying about it. As of mid-October, at least 170 citizens have been detained, a number that seems to keep growing each day. Until Congress intervenes, these blatant violations of basic rights, perhaps even the Constitution, can only be interrupted by court orders.  

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thinks that people struggling with rising inflation should simply move from a blue state to a red state.

“I can tell you.… You know the best way to bring your inflation rate down? Move from a blue state to a red state,” Bessent declared on MSNBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “Blue state inflation is half a percent higher, and that is because they don’t deregulate, they keep prices up. Energy is higher.”

What a baffling, tone-deaf statement. How would people already struggling with rising prices have the time or money to uproot their jobs, homes, and families to move to a state that has a few thousand more Republican voters?

“Move to a red state where the general cost of living and quality of life is worse, pay is worse, you have fewer protections, less access to healthcare, are less safe, but hey, you’ll save half a penny per dollar on your groceries,” one X user replied. “Fucking ghoul.”

“Great message. Tired of high grocery prices? Sell your home, find a new job, buy a new home, move somewhere else, start life over. Magic!” wrote another. “Now your grocery bill is $10 less.”

This blue-state-versus-red-state narrative that Bessent, the GOP, and even many Democrats push is so tired. There are poor, working-class Americans struggling to survive in “coastal elite” states like New York and California just like there are in the deep South and the Rust Belt. Bessent’s comments only further distract from the much larger issues of impending recession and economic inequality.

There’s no way anyone had this on their bingo cards: Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’s had enough of childish antics. 

The former die-hard Donald Trump fan took a moment on Monday to call out her critics—who now include the president she’d once pledged her loyalty to—following her announcement that she would resign from Congress in January. 

“Everyone just runs their mouths but results are the only thing that matter to the American people. Smears, lies, attacks, and name calling is childish behavior, divisive, and bad for our country. Memes and red meat rants do nothing. Actions speak louder than words,” Green wrote on X. 

“Be quiet, be kind, be humble and fix the real problems that are crushing Americans. Not foreign country’s problems. Not the donor’s problems,” she wrote. “The American people’s problems that both political parties created and dumped on the American people.”

Of course, the Republican firebrand has levied more than her fair share of outlandish lies and name-calling during her time in office.  

Her mention of “childish behavior” seems to be a reference to Trump’s post on Truth Social Saturday, in which he resorted to schoolyard taunts to address the resignation of “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown,” claiming that the Georgia Republican “went BAD.”

Trump had doubled down on the nickname Monday morning, praising a Fox & Friends segment that also bashed Greene—except he confused a prerecorded clip during the show for a live one.