'Free country!' Federal judge uses 'multiple exclamation points' in pro-Mark Kelly ruling
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U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) speaks with members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with the correct number of exclamation points.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Az.) is "winning" his lawsuit against the Pentagon, CNN reported Thursday afternoon.
The suit from Kelly was over efforts but the Department of Defense and President Donald Trump's administration to penalize him over a video reminding soldiers they’re required to disobey unconstitutional orders.
Kelly, a retired Navy officer, along with five other former soldiers or intelligence officers, made a video in which they told other soldiers they needn't worry about violating orders from superiors if those orders conflict with the U.S. Constitution. All soldiers and agents swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not to a president or a specific military official.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz reported that there is "relief from a judge stepping in and saying that the Pentagon basically can't censure him and that he should have protections."
The written statements from Judge Richard Leon in Washington D.C.included "multiple exclamation points."
Leon, a Republican-appointed judge, used no fewer than 14 exclamation points in the ruling.
“Secretary [Pete] Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces,” Leon wrote.
“Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!” he added.
"Defendants respond that Senator Kelly is seeking to exempt himself from the rules of military justice that 'Congress has expressly made applicable to retired servicemembers.' Horsefeathers!" the judge exclaimed
"Per an amicus brief submitted by forty-one retired officers, many veterans are today 'declining' to 'participate
in public debate on important and contested issues' out of fear of "official reprisal," the judge noted. "That is a troubling development a free country!"