Kelly sues Pentagon over Hegseth’s punishment threats

From PBS NewsHour.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is suing the Pentagon over its attempts to punish him for urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders. In his lawsuit, the former U.S. Navy pilot argued that the First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that he was censuring Kelly, a procedural step that could lead to a demotion and a cut in retirement pay. In November, Kelly and five other Democrats released a video calling on troops not to follow orders if they are unlawful.

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