Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Thursday blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's bid to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over participating in a video calling on U.S. troops to refuse illegal orders.

Pete Hegseth was blocked by a federal judge on Thursday from punishing a Democratic senator who urged troops not to carry out illegal orders from Donald Trump.

A federal judge agreed Thursday to block the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials not only violated Kelly's First Amendment free speech rights,…

A federal judge called the Trump administration's action against Sen. Mark Kelly a threat to the free speech rights of "millions" of military retirees.

Judge Richard J. Leon found that attempts to discipline Mark Kelly for a video that warned against following illegal orders would violate the senator’s First Amendment rights.

A federal judge blocked the Pentagon from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over a controversial video, ruling his First Amendment rights were violated.

A federal judge blocked the Pentagon’s efforts to censure Sen. Mark Kelly and lower his retirement rank in the wake of a video in which the Arizona senator and other Democrats called on service member...