Mark Kelly Sues Pete Hegseth to Stop ‘Unconstitutional’ Pay Cut, Censure After He Released Video About ‘Illegal Orders’

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly slapped a lawsuit against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for sending him a censure letter and moving to dock his military retirement pay as punishment for urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.”

Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired Navy Captain, accused Hegseth and the Pentagon of pursuing an “unconstitutional and legally baseless proceeding” against him as retaliation over remarks with which the secretary disagreed.

“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran,” Kelly said in a statement.

“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”

Last week, Hegseth announced that the Department of the Navy initiated retirement grade determination proceedings against Kelly to demote him and slash his retirement pay. (Read more from “Mark Kelly Sues Pete Hegseth to Stop ‘Unconstitutional’ Pay Cut, Censure After He Released Video About ‘Illegal Orders’” HERE)