Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., refutes efforts by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to intimidate him and other lawmakers after expressing concerns over U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean, during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2026-01-12T19:09:18Z WASHINGTON (AP) Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders.Kelly, a former Navy pilot, is seeking to block his censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. Hegseth announced last Monday that he censured Kelly over the former Navy pilots participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.Hegseth said the censure by itself simply a formal letter with little practical consequence was a necessary process step to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kellys retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.Kelly asked the court to declare the censure letter, the proceedings about his rank and any other punishments against him unlawful and unconstitutional.The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech, his lawsuit says. That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy.The censure stemmed from Kellys participation in a video in November with five other Democratic lawmakers all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community in which they called on troops to uphold the Constitution and defy illegal orders.