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President Donald Trump salutes as he attends a military parade commemorating the Army”s 250th anniversary, coinciding with his 79th birthday, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Washington, as Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and first lady Melania Trump, watch. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson).
In a decisive move, a federal judge has halted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to penalize Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, for advising service members that they have the right to “refuse illegal orders.” This action by the Trump administration was criticized as a potential infringement on the free speech rights of numerous military retirees.
Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, appointed by George W. Bush, delivered the decision on Thursday. This came shortly after news broke that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro did not secure indictments against Kelly and five other Democrats. They had appeared in a November video condemning President Donald Trump’s aggressive boat strikes on suspected drug traffickers in international waters.
In the video, Kelly addressed both military personnel and intelligence officials, affirming that “our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”
Following Trump’s accusations of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and his demand for the arrest and trial of these “traitors,” the Defense Department, led by Hegseth, charged Kelly with “undermin[ing] the chain of command,” “counsel[ing] disobedience,” and exhibiting “conduct unbecoming an officer.” They threatened to demote his retirement rank and pay as a former Navy captain.
Judge Leon concluded that Kelly demonstrated a strong case, showing a significant likelihood of success on the merits. He argued that the Trump administration’s actions were illegal retaliation against Kelly for his “unquestionably protected speech” under the First Amendment, with the balance of equities and public interest favoring Kelly.
Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
After Trump claimed the Democrats engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and said “each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” the Defense Department, headed by Hegseth, accused Kelly of “undermin[ing] the chain of command,” “counsel[ing] disobedience,” and engaging in “conduct unbecoming an officer,” threatening a reduction in retirement rank and pay grade for the former Navy captain.
For Leon, Kelly showed that he “easily has the balance of the equities and the public interest on his side,” and is “likely to succeed on the merits” that the Trump administration unlawfully retaliated against Kelly for “unquestionably protected speech,” in violation of the First Amendment.
Kelly’s suit argued that the senator was merely articulating a “plain statement of blackletter law” under the Uniform Code of Military Justice when he said “you can refuse illegal orders.”
Leon agreed.
“Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces,” the judge summarized. “Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!”
The judge then quoted Bob Dylan while bashing Hegseth’s “trampl[ing]” of Kelly’s rights and, by extension, the threat levied against “millions” of other retired military members.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., refutes efforts by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to intimidate him and other lawmakers after expressing concerns over U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean, during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite).
“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,” Leon added. “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!”
Describing one DOJ argument as “anemic” and reacting “Please! That is not the law” to another, the judge granted Kelly a preliminary injunction — in no small part because “our representative system of Government cannot function!” if lawmakers can’t speak “without fear of reprisal by the Executive[.]”
The judge issued a parting plea to Hegseth to make a “course correction” away from “trying to shrink” the First Amendment.
“Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired servicemembers, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired servicemembers have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years,” Leon said. “If so, they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the first Amendment in the Bill of Rights! Hopefully this injunction will in some small way help bring about a course correction in the Defense Department’s approach to these issues.”
Source: NewsFinale | Read the Full Story…
