US judge blocks Pentagon's effort to punish Senator Mark Kelly

By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge blocked the Pentagon on Thursday from reducing Senator Mark Kelly's retired military rank and pension pay as punishment after he urged troops to reject unlawful orders.

The preliminary ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington is the latest setback in court for President Donald Trump's historic campaign of vengeance against his perceived political enemies, which has drawn pushback from judges across the ideological spectrum.

Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate, was one of six congressional Democrats who appeared in a November video that reminded service members of their duty to reject unlawful orders. In the clip, Kelly stated: “Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders.”

Leon, appointed by then-U.S. President George W. Bush in 2002, said in his ruling: "The speech at issue here is unquestionably protected speech." He described the move to punish Kelly as a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Kelly brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration to halt the censure.

"There is nothing 'routine' about defendants' actions here: punishing a sitting U.S. Senator for his views on military policy," Leon wrote. "It is a particularly valuable asset for our country to have retired veterans contributing to public discussion on military matters and policy."

Kelly applauded the ruling, saying in a statement: "A federal court made clear that (U.S. Defense Secretary) Pete Hegseth violated the constitution when he tried to punish me for something I said."

A White House spokesperson said the court's ruling would not be the final say on the matter and that "Hegseth rightfully directed a review to determine future actions as a result of these dangerous comments by Senator Kelly."

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on X that the ruling will be immediately appealed, adding: "Sedition is sedition, 'Captain.'"

Kelly made his remarks in November as more Democrats were criticizing Trump’s decisions to deploy the National Guard in U.S. cities and authorize lethal strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Latin America.

The Republican president, in a social media post, called the video "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH."

Hegseth issued a censure letter on January 5, asserting that Kelly had "clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline" in violation of military rules that apply to both active and retired personnel.

Trump administration lawyers had urged the judge to dismiss Kelly's lawsuit. In a recent court filing, they called it a "quintessential matter of military discipline not within the Judiciary's purview."

The Trump administration also called the lawsuit premature, saying Kelly had not yet been formally censured and should have responded to Hegseth's allegations through administrative channels.