❓WHAT HAPPENED: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is appealing a court decision that blocked the punishment of Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over a video urging military members to ignore “illegal” orders.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Secretary Hegseth, Sen. Kelly, and five other congressional Democrats, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Chris Deluzio (D-PA).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The appeal was filed on Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There is only one reason to appeal that ruling: to keep trampling on the free speech rights of retired veterans and silence dissent.” – Mark Kelly
🎯IMPACT: The case raises questions about the scope of federal courts regarding the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and the legal limits of military order compliance.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is challenging a district court ruling that blocked his efforts to demote Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former Navy captain, over a video in which Kelly and other Democrats urged military members to disobey what they vaguely characterized as “illegal” orders. The appeal was filed on Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Kelly and five other congressional Democrats—Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Chris Deluzio (D-PA)—appeared in the controversial video. The lawmakers, all veterans or former Intelligence Community members, claimed that service members are not required to follow unlawful orders.
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Hegseth labeled the video “sedition.” In response to Hegseth’s appeal, Kelly stated on X (formerly Twitter), “These guys don’t know when to quit. A federal judge told Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth that they violated my constitutional rights and chilled the free speech of millions of retired veterans. There is only one reason to appeal that ruling: to keep trampling on the free speech rights of retired veterans and silence dissent.”
The National Pulse reported earlier this month that U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, a Bush appointee, granted Kelly a preliminary injunction against Hegseth. Leon claimed that the Department of War had “trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees.”
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