Federal judge rules Hegseth can't penalize Sen. Mark Kelly over video urging adherence to the law

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1
BREAKING on MS NOW: A federal judge has ruled Pete Hegseth can't penalize Sen. Mark Kelly over that video telling service members they can refuse illegal orders. Judge Richard Leon blocked the Pentagon from pursuing disciplinary action against Kelly after finding an effort to cut his retirement benefits was likely unconstitutional.

12:45 PM · Feb 12, 2026

Link to tweet

Judge says Pentagon 'trampled' on Sen. Mark Kelly's rights, blocks effort to demote him

“This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote. “After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, 'You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.' To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”

“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. “If so, they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the first Amendment in the Bill of Rights!"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-says-pentagon-trampled-on-sen-mark-kellys-rights-blocks-effort-to-demote-him/ar-AA1WetMP

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Judge says Pete Hegseth is unlawfully retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly over 'illegal orders' video

This ruling makes me smile. I am looking forward to reading this opinion

Judge says Pete Hegseth is unlawfully retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ video

https://fascinating.news/r/hRS2CmPg

— Fascinating News 🇺🇸 (@fascinating-us.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T17:42:01.123Z

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/12/politics/mark-kelly-pentagon-lawsuit-ruling

A federal judge on Thursday shut down Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over his urging of US service members to refuse illegal orders, ruling that the Pentagon chief’s actions were unconstitutionally retaliatory.

The decision landed two days after a grand jury in Washington, DC, declined to approve charges sought by federal prosecutors against the Arizona senator and several other Democratic lawmakers who taped a video last year warning that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home,” and repeatedly implored service members and the intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”

Together, the grand jury declination and ruling from senior US District Judge Richard Leon represent major impediments to efforts by aides of President Donald Trump to use the levers of government to punish Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, over his participation in the video.

Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in a scathing, 29-page ruling that Hegseth was trampling over the First Amendment rights of Kelly and that his moves are an impermissible form of government retaliation.