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** For Immediate Release: January 8, 2026
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** TRI Sounds Alarm Over Trump Administration Efforts to Retaliate Against Veterans for Defending the Constitution
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As an organization that has long defended the First Amendment rights of veterans and active-duty service members, The Rutherford Institute is raising serious concerns about attempts by the federal government to intimidate or punish military veterans—including by threatening to reduce their retirement grade and pay—for exercising their right to criticize the government ([link removed]) .

The Institute’s warning coincides with efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the military retirement grade and pay of Senator Mark Kelly, a decorated combat veteran, in retaliation ([link removed]) for his public statements ([link removed]) reminding military service members that their allegiance to the Constitution must trump any political loyalties—and that they retain not only the right, but the legal obligation, to refuse orders that are unlawful or unconstitutional.

Warning that the government’s actions should alarm every American—regardless of political affiliation—The Rutherford Institute is calling on all elected officials and government agencies to immediately repudiate any suggestion that veterans’ pensions or benefits can be used as leverage to suppress dissent. As the Institute points out, a veteran’s military pension is retirement compensation earned through years of honorable service, often at great personal risk. Courts have repeatedly affirmed that the government may not penalize individuals for protected speech by threatening economic harm.

“The Constitution does not place veterans on a shorter leash when it comes to free speech or conscience,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “Those who swear an oath to defend the Constitution have every right—and indeed a duty—to question orders that would require them to violate that oath. Any attempt to condition earned benefits on political obedience is not only unconstitutional—it is authoritarian.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

Concerns over unlawful orders are not hypothetical. There has been heightened alarm over the Trump administration’s expanding use of military forces in domestic law enforcement roles and its increasing reliance on executive directives that test constitutional limits. The Orders Project, a nonpartisan initiative that connects service members with outside legal counsel, reports an increase in inquiries from military personnel who fear they may be asked to carry out illegal orders or pressured to participate in missions that conflict with their training in the laws of war.

Indeed, the issue has become so pronounced that six members of Congress, including Mark Kelly—all with military or national security backgrounds—recorded a public message reminding service members of their legal obligations. As they stated, “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders…you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

For reiterating what every recruit is taught in basic training, those lawmakers have faced public denunciations and calls for investigation. Yet similar guidance—that service members have a duty to disobey unlawful orders—was publicly voiced in 2016 by then–Fox News host Pete Hegseth, underscoring that this principle has long been recognized across political lines. Retaliating against a veteran for reiterating this core constitutional obligation threatens to chill lawful speech, distort the meaning of military discipline, and undermine the very oath the armed forces are sworn to uphold.

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) is a nonprofit civil liberties organization dedicated to making the government play by the rules of the Constitution. To this end, the Institute defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a broad range of issues affecting their freedoms.

This press release is also available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2026 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

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