Judge says Pentagon 'trampled on' Sen. Kelly's First Amendment rights

A federal judge has blocked the Department of Defense from attempting to demote and reduce retirement benefits for Sen. Mark Kelly. 

In a blistering ruling that accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of trying to strip the First Amendment rights of military retirees, a Republican-appointed judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon from trying to punish Sen. Mark Kelly because of a video he and other Democratic lawmakers made urging service members not to follow illegal orders.

The sharply worded opinion by D.C. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, accused Hegseth of "trampling" on the Arizona senator's right to free speech and suggested that Hegseth should be more "grateful" for the wisdom of 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," Leon wrote in his opinion.

Leon later added that 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."

"This will be immediately appealed," Hegseth posted on social media on Thursday after the opinion was released.