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A federal judge has blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Senator Mark Kelly over his participation in a video urging US service members to refuse illegal orders.

Getting into it: In a ruling, Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from censuring Kelly, reducing his US Navy retirement rank, lowering his retirement pay, or using the findings of its review against him while the case proceeds. Leon said the Defense Department had “trampled” on Kelly’s First Amendment rights by attempting to punish him for public statements made as a sitting member of Congress, and he rejected the argument that limits on active-duty service members’ speech extend to retirees. “No court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress,” Leon wrote, adding, “This Court will not be the first to do so.”

This comes after the Pentagon initiated retirement grade determination proceedings and issued a formal letter of censure after labeling Kelly’s remarks in the November video “seditious.” Hegseth argued that military personnel decisions are generally exempt from judicial review and that Kelly should first exhaust internal military appeals before turning to the courts. Leon dismissed that claim, saying the court had sufficient authority to intervene, and warned that forcing Kelly through a military process would effectively allow the armed forces to adjudicate his First Amendment rights. He also wrote that punishing the senator risked chilling the speech of millions of retired veterans and undermining the constitutional balance between Congress and the executive branch.

It also follows a failed attempt by federal prosecutors to secure a grand jury indictment against Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the same video. A grand jury did not find probable cause to charge the lawmakers with seditious conspiracy, despite earlier public condemnation from President Donald Trump, who accused them of “seditious behavior.”

In a statement following the ruling, Kelly said the court “made clear that Pete Hegseth violated the Constitution when he tried to punish me for something I said,” and argued the case was about protecting the rights of retired service members to speak freely. He described the administration’s actions as an attempt to send a message that veterans could face demotion or censure for speaking out.

The Defense Department and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the injunction was issued.