Judge Temporarily Blocks Hegseth from Punishing Kelly for Video

[Coventina]

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, for participating in a video that warned active-duty service members not to follow illegal orders.

Judge Richard J. Leon of the District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in a 29-page opinion that the Defense Department’s move to discipline Mr. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, ran roughshod over his freedom of speech. Judge Leon barred Mr. Hegseth and the Pentagon from taking any steps to reduce the senator’s retirement rank and pay, or using the findings against Mr. Kelly in a criminal proceeding.

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

The blunt ruling came after a grand jury in Washington rejected an extraordinary attempt by federal prosecutors in Washington to secure a criminal indictment against Mr. Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers who together released a video in November directed at members of the military and intelligence community.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/us/judge-blocks-kelly-punishment-hegseth.html?

**************************************************************************************

[SheltieLover]

1. Yes!

[D. Spaulding]

2. Outstanding decision and the absolute correct one

As a retired military vet, I find Hegseth's arse kissing actions like this, deplorable.
As the judge said, "U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, noted the military principal that servicemembers enjoy weakened First Amendment protections to preserve discipline in the armed forces, but said that no court had ever extended that doctrine to retired service members. “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,” the judge wrote.

Leon quoted singer-songwriter Bob Dylan to say, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. 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.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. good