(MENAFN) US Senator Mark Kelly said on Monday that threats against him and his wife, former Representative Gabby Giffords, have sharply increased following President Donald Trump’s statements calling for the execution of six Democratic lawmakers who encouraged military personnel to “refuse unlawful orders.”

Kelly told reporters, “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 emphasized that while he would not discuss personal security details, he takes the threats seriously, noting, “How many times in our country's history have you heard a president of the United States say that members of the Senate and the House should be hanged and executed? I mean, I can't think of one. Those words carry a lot of weight. The number of threatening calls that we get into our office have skyrocketed, and they were very graphic.”

Trump, in posts on his Truth Social platform last month, demanded that Senators Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, along with Representatives Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander, and Chris Deluzio, be arrested and tried after they urged US service members and intelligence personnel to disobey unlawful orders. Trump described the lawmakers’ actions as “Seditious behavior, punishable by death!”

When asked if he might pursue legal action against Trump, Kelly said he had not considered it, calling the comments dangerous and a violation of constitutional and senatorial rights. He also criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, claiming Trump surrounds himself with advisors “who will do whatever he says with no question” and that both prioritize publicity over the rule of law.

Pentagon records indicate that Hegseth referred Kelly’s statements, a retired Navy captain, to the Department of the Navy for review, requesting a briefing by Dec. 10.

Kelly asserted, “President Trump has crossed the line, and this time, it's not going to work. I will not be intimidated by this president. I am not going to be silenced by this president or the people around him, because I've given too much in service to this country to back down to this guy.”

Trump responded on Truth Social, claiming that Kelly and the other lawmakers “were wrong to do what they did, and they know it!” and warned that “I hope the people looking at them are not duped into thinking that it’s OK to openly and freely get others to disobey the President of the United States!”

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