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.

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,…

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...

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.