Defense Secretary Appeals Mark Kelly Free Speech Ruling

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is appealing a judge's order that prevents him from punishing Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for participating in a video. The video urged troops to resist unlawful orders from the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that Pentagon officials violated Mark Kelly's First Amendment rights and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. The United States===United States Department of Justice, on behalf of Pete Hegseth, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the ruling. Mark Kelly views the appeal as an attempt to suppress free speech, while Pete Hegseth maintains that the actions constitute sedition. A Washington grand jury previously declined to indict the lawmakers involved in the video.