‘A chilling message.’ Mark Kelly sues Hegseth for military censure

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, filed a lawsuit Jan. 12 against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over threats to reduce his military pension.

“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President ‌or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, ‌or even prosecuted,” Kelly, D-Arizona, said on ‌social media.

The lawsuit is the latest clash – and one of the highest profile – between Democratic lawmakers and the Trump administration over military policies. Disputes have flared over the deployment ​of National Guard troops in U.S. cities ‌to help immigration enforcement ⁠officers; the U.S. military’s removal of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro; and President Donald Trump’s threats to take ‌control of Greenland.

The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A half-dozen lawmakers released a video in November stating that members of ‌the military have a legal obligation to disregard unlawful orders. Trump and Hegseth have accused Kelly of “sedition” and “treason.”

Hegseth issued a censure letter Jan. 5 saying Kelly’s statements “undermined the ‌chain of command” and “counseled ​disobedience.” ‌The department is also considering reducing Kelly’s rank in retirement. And Hegseth’s letter threatened “criminal prosecution” if Kelly continued to make similar statements.

Kelly’s lawsuit filed in U.S. District ‌Court in DC argued that the punishments violated his First Amendment right to free speech. He also argued the executive branch was ​trying to prevent robust debate among lawmakers.

“If permitted to stand, the Secretary’s censure and the grade-determination proceedings that he has directed will inflict immediate and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit said. “The censure, the ⁠grade-reduction process, and its inevitable outcome impose official punishment ​for protected speech, chill legislative oversight, and threaten reductions ⁠in rank and pay.”