Senator Mark Kelly sues Pete Hegseth, DOD, and others over Hegseth's censure of Kelly

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Link to tweet

[WA-03 Democrat]

1. Thanks for sharing!

Good news!

[Attilatheblond]

2. While looking for someone to make an example of....

they chose poorly.

[Lovie777]

3. Outstanding!..................

[FascismIsDeath]

4. I love that the complaint says "Secretary of DEFENSE"/"Department of DEFENSE"

Those are still the official names and titles, no matter what Trump wants to call it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. You need to sue an entity using its proper name

There is no Dept. of War and NO Sec. of War in the real world

[Marie Marie]

19. Yup. Dept of War only exists in Pete's drunken brain fantasy of "playing Army"

[drmeow]

5. I've been waiting for this nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Breaking News on MSNOW

BREAKING: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is suing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. @lawofruby.bsky.social reports on this developing story.

— MS NOW (@ms.now) 2026-01-12T18:35:41.855Z

[sheshe2]

7. Excellent news!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Statement from Senator Kelly

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. JUST IN: Sen. Mark Kelly releases statement after SUING Pete Hegseth and the Dept. of Defense

Here is a BlueSky version of this statement

JUST IN: Sen. Mark Kelly releases statement after SUING Pete Hegseth and the Dept. of Defense

— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-01-12T19:12:56.164Z

[Jarqui]

23. Great statement by a great American

If the US Congress, Administration and Oval Office was full of men like Mark Kelly, the United States would be in a much better place today.

[CousinIT]

10. Bluesky link, for those who don't want to be among Nazis:

BREAKING: Senator Mark Kelly sues Pete Hegseth, DOD, and others over Hegseth's censure of Kelly and effort to reduce his retirement grade, alleging violations of the First Amendment, due process, Speech & Debate Clause, and federal laws.

Kelly is represented by Arnold & Porter.

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T18:41:03.702Z

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Pete Hegseth sued by Mark Kelly after demotion threat

This lawsuit will be fun to follow

Pete Hegseth sued by Mark Kelly after demotion threat

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T18:56:25.000Z

https://www.rawstory.com/mark-kelly-pete-hegseth-2674875820/

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he was threatened with demotion and a loss of retirement pay.

Last year, Hegseth threatened to court-martial Kelly after he participated in a video encouraging service members not to follow illegal orders. President Donald Trump responded to the video, suggesting Kelly's words were treasonous and could be punished by death.

Hegseth eventually backed down from the threat of a court-martial and said he would pursue a demotion instead. Kelly retired from the military with the rank of captain.

The lawsuit accuses Hegseth of violating the First Amendment, due process, the Speech & Debate Clause, and federal laws.

Kelly seeks judicial review over the process as well as "preliminarily and permanently enjoining Defendants, their agents, employees, appointees, successors, and anyone acting in concert or participation with Defendants from implementing, maintaining, or giving effect to Defendants' actions, including the Secretaryof Defense's determinations and threats of further criminal or administrative action."

[StarryNite]

12. Excellent!

[UTUSN]

14. K&R and, we the people should file a class action suit over the KRASNOV cartel's

complete lack of public service and hostile activities.

[North Coast Lawyer]

15. Nice!

A brief concise pleading that gets right to the point. If federal officials can move against people who speak out against them then the 1st Amendment means nothing.

Edit: Not quite as concise as OP's link indicated. The actual filing is 46 pages (still fairly short by federal standards).

[LoisB]

16. Good.

[BurnDoubt]

17. Senator Kelly is fighting for ALL our RIGHTS.

THANK YOU, SIR!!!!!
I’m behind you all the way.

[poli-junkie]

18. Kelly for Prez 🤘🏼

[Martin68]

20. Good for Kelly!

[AllaN01Bear]

21. ding! this !

[Marie Marie]

22. I hope that he has excellent lawyers and that Petie ends up with some incompetent

Bondi/Halligan/ Habba type of Trump's government legal counsel.

[democrank]

24. Principled patriot vs. un-American thug

Good luck Senator Kelly….and thank you.

[orleans]

25. heard this on wcpt a little while ago. good news! k&r nt

[Midnight Writer]

26. Schoolyard 101: If a bully takes a swing at you, punch him back. He'll pick an easier target next time.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

27. Sen. Mark Kelly sues Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over efforts to reduce his military retirement rank

Hegseth said last week that the Pentagon was taking steps to downgrade Kelly’s military retirement rank and pay after the senator urged service members not to follow illegal orders.

Sen. Mark Kelly sues Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over efforts to reduce his military retirement rank

www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

— Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” (@ryanjreilly.com) 2026-01-12T19:15:32.906Z

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-mark-kelly-sues-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-efforts-reduce-mili-rcna253658

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., filed a lawsuit Monday against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon, charging their effort to censure and demote him is "unlawful and unconstitutional."

Hegseth said last week that the Pentagon was taking steps to downgrade Kelly’s military retirement rank and pay because of his “seditious statements” — a reference to a video he and other retired service members released that urged members of the military not to comply with illegal orders.

The suit charges Hegseth's actions violate Kelly's First Amendment rights, as well as the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which grants immunity to lawmakers for official acts.

"It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech," says the suit, which seeks a court order declaring Hegseth's actions to be unlawful.

“Allowing Defendants to punish a Senator through military proceedings for his political speech erodes the separation of powers and gives the Executive a power over legislators that the Constitution does not contemplate,” the filing says......

"And by that logic, a 100-year-old World War II veteran could be hauled in and censured or court-martialed because he says something that Pete Hegseth disagrees with," he added.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

28. The judge has give Hegseth until Thursday to respond to this lawsuit

That is not good for Hegseth

Link to tweet