A federal judge this week ruled that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's efforts to punish Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., for his participation in a video urging members of the military to ignore "illegal" orders violated the senator's First Amendment rights.

Kelly, last year, appeared alongside a group of Democrats who were either veterans or past members of the Intelligence Community. The group warned current military and federal officials not to follow orders from the administration that were "illegal" but did not identify any specific orders they found objectionable. Hegseth subsequently initiated disciplinary action against Kelly, a Navy veteran, prompting the senator to sue.

“This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees,” wrote Judge Richard Leon, Politico reported. “To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”

The decision follows the Justice Department's failure to secure an indictment against the video participants from a federal grand jury earlier this month.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.