Pete Hegseth is appealing a judge’s ruling that blocks him from punishing Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for appearing in a video urging troops not to follow unlawful orders.

The Justice Department will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the Feb. 12 decision by Judge Richard Leon, who ruled that Kelly’s First Amendment rights were violated and that the Pentagon’s actions threatened the liberties of military retirees.

Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, all veterans, appeared in the November video promoting adherence to the Constitution rather than unlawful directives from the Donald Trump administration.

Trump previously labeled their actions “sedition punishable by DEATH,” but a Washington grand jury declined to indict the lawmakers, the AP has reported.

Leon’s order currently prevents the Pentagon from enforcing Kelly’s Jan. 5 censure while the lawsuit proceeds.