Hegseth vows to appeal judge's ruling blocking him from punishing Kelly over 'seditious' video

The judge blocked Hegseth earlier Thursday, ruling the senator would likely succeed in his claim that the administration "trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."

By Misty Severi

Published: February 12, 2026 5:16pm

War Secretary Pete Hegseth promised Thursday to appeal a federal judge's recent decision to block him from punishing Navy veteran and Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly for his appearance in a "seditious" video.

The judge blocked Hegseth earlier Thursday, ruling that Kelly would likely succeed in his argument that the administration "trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."

The ruling comes after Kelly, last year, appeared alongside a group of Democrats who were either veterans or past members of the Intelligence Community. The group warned current military and federal officials not to follow orders from the administration that were "illegal" but did not identify any specific orders they found objectionable.

"This will be immediately appealed," Hegseth posted on X in response to the ruling. "Sedition is sedition, 'Captain.'"

Hegseth previously attempted to initiate disciplinary action against Kelly over the viral video, which prompted the senator to sue.

Other lawmakers in the 90-second video include Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

The ruling follows the Justice Department's failure to secure an indictment against the video participants from a federal grand jury earlier this month.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.