Judge Quotes Bob Dylan in Scathing Rebuke of Hegseth’s Bid to Punish Senator

The Pentagon chief has been targeting Mark Kelly over the veteran reminding the military they don’t have to follow illegal orders

By Nikki McCann Ramirez

February 12, 2026

A judge has dismissed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a former Navy captain and astronaut who incurred the Pentagon chief’s ire when he reminded active-duty service members that they do not have to execute unlawful orders. 

Judge Richard Leon, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, wrote on Thursday that Hegseth’s efforts to demote Kelly and relieve him of veterans benefits had “trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees.” 

“Secretary 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. 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,” wrote Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush. “This Court will not be the first to do so!” 

In his scathing rebuke of Hegseth, Leon quoted Bob Dylan’s hit song (and Rolling Stone’s 187th greatest song of all time) “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

“After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.’ To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!” the judge wrote. 

Hegseth moved to strip the senator of some of his military retirement benefits and rank after Kelly — alongside other members of Congress who are veterans — encouraged members of the military to honor their oath and “refuse illegal orders,” amid the Trump administration’s bombing of boats in the Caribbean late last year.

Kelly countersued Hegseth in January, writing in a statement on X that his “rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder.” 

“If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government,” Kelly added. 

All in all, Judge Leon seems to agree, and used some decidedly colorful language when putting it to paper. The judge called the Defense Department’s case against Kelly a pile of “Horsefeathers!” and “anemic!” 

“Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired servicemembers, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired servicemembers have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years,” Leon wrote. “Hopefully this injunction will in some small way help bring about a course correction in the Defense Department’s approach to these issues.”

Rolling Stone