Senator Mark Kelly said he’s faced an onslaught of death threats and hired a private security detail after President Donald Trump lashed out at him for posting a video urging members of the U.S. military to disobey “illegal orders.”

Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and former Navy pilot, revealed his heightened security situation in an interview with Vanity Fair published Wednesday. But, despite the dangerous circumstances, he said he remains unflappable.

“Trump is not gonna scare me,” he said. “He’s a wannabe authoritarian, and we’ve gotta make sure he doesn’t get there.”

To this point, Kelly said people shouldn’t dismiss the president’s provocative rhetoric as harmless bluster.

“[Trump] talks about sending the military to train on U.S. citizens, and people think, Oh, well, he’s not going to do it. It’s just Trump being Trump. That’s how we got here,” he told the outlet. “We know who Donald Trump is, right? We knew who he was even when he was running for office the first time. This is a guy who talked about killing — killing — women and children. He said we should have the military kill the family members of terrorists. You know, you can’t put that sh** back in the donkey,” he added.

Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, revealed that he hired private security after facing death threats. It comes weeks after President Donald Trump attacked him for posting a video urging members of the military to disobey illegal orders. (Getty Images)

The senator, who was first elected to the Senate in 2020, added that he’s dealt with “harder things” than his recent dust-up with Trump. Top among them was the assassination attempt on his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords. While meeting with constituents in 2011, she was shot in the face at point blank range.

“I sat next to my wife’s hospital bed for months, without any idea of how it was gonna turn out,” Kelly told Vanity Fair. “Most people don’t survive that kind of wound.” Upon her recovery, Giffords stepped down from office and became an advocate for gun violence prevention.

The former NASA astronaut — who was on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ shortlist to serve as her running mate in 2024 — also said that his upbringing in northern New Jersey lends itself to dealing with difficult situations.

“I grew up in the town that the fictional Tony Soprano grew up in,” Kelly, who now lives in Arizona, told Vanity Fair. “When you grow up around mobsters, it makes you resilient to this sh**.”

Kelly’s comments several weeks after he became engulfed in a political firestorm, stemming from a video he and five other Democrats posted on social media in November. It was directed to members of the military.

In the video, the six lawmakers — all veterans or former intelligence community professionals — said, “The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”

Trump quickly responded on Truth Social, calling the Democrats’ behavior “SEDITIOUS” and “punishable by DEATH!”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s remarks, telling reporters on November 20, “The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command, and if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed.”

She added that the Democrats’ video sent “a very, very dangerous message…and it perhaps is punishable by law.”

Days later, the Pentagon said it was opening an investigation into Kelly, noting that, unlike the five other Democrats, he remains subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.),” the Pentagon said in a statement. “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.”

The FBI’s counter terrorism division also reached out to schedule interviews with the six Democrats — labeled “Seditious Six” by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, on stage at a campaign event for former Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2024 (AFP/Getty)

Kelly, and the other Democrats — including Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and Colorado Rep. Jason Crow — have maintained that they did nothing wrong.

“I said something that was lawful, it was pretty simple,” Kelly told MSnow this weekend. “It was a message that I felt members of the military, at this time — when you consider who this president is and who the secretary of defense is — they needed to hear this pretty basic message.”

“To be honest the president’s reaction and the use of the FBI against us is exactly why we made the video,” Slotkin said in November. “He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries, and he’s not afraid to use the arms of the government against people he disagrees with. He does not believe the law applies to him.”

On December 9, Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee also sent a letter to the secretary of the Navy, describing the Pentagon’s investigation as "an outright, brazen abuse of power.”