Judge Blocks Pentagon from Punishing Senator Mark Kelly
A federal judge blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from censuring Senator Mark Kelly and reducing his retired military rank over a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction on February 12, 2026, blocking the Department of Defense from punishing Mark Kelly, a U.S. Senator and retired Navy captain. The ruling prohibits Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from implementing a January 5 censure letter and prevents the U.S. Navy from holding a hearing to reduce Kelly's retired rank and pension pay.
The legal battle stemmed from a November 2025 video in which Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers urged military personnel to disobey unlawful orders. President Donald Trump condemned the video as "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and called for the traitors to be arrested. Hegseth argued that Kelly's conduct violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and undermined military discipline.
Judge Leon ruled that the government "trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms," noting that speech limitations for active-duty personnel do not extend to retirees. The decision followed a separate setback for the administration when a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict Kelly and Senator Elissa Slotkin on criminal charges of seditious conspiracy.
Kelly stated that the administration attempted to intimidate retired veterans who speak out. Hegseth announced that the government would immediately appeal the ruling, asserting that "Sedition is sedition, ‘Captain,’"
