{"id":8823,"date":"2026-02-27T18:10:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T18:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:10:05","slug":"doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against him during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. \u00a0(Photo by Heather Diehl\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>\n<p>U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against him during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. \u00a0(Photo by Heather Diehl\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration must explain to a circuit court before the end of March exactly why it appealed a lower court\u2019s ruling that allows Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly to keep his retirement rank and pay while a First Amendment case about the \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up The Ship\u201d video plays out.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42904\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42904.01208826024.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">order<\/a> gives the Department of Justice until March 30 to provide a series of documents in its appeal of the district court\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/federal-judge-blocks-pentagon-attempt-demote-sen-mark-kelly-over-illegal-orders-video\" target=\"_blank\">preliminary injunction<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">That ruling, from Senior Judge Richard J. Leon of the District of Columbia District Court, said Defense Department officials, including Secretary Pete Hegseth, erred when trying to apply rules that affect active-duty military members to Kelly, a retired Navy Captain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cSecretary 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,\u201d Leon\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/federal-judge-blocks-pentagon-attempt-demote-sen-mark-kelly-over-illegal-orders-video\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cUnfortunately 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. This Court will not be the first to do so!\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Leon was nominated by former President George W. Bush.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>DOD seeks to downgrade Kelly retirement rank<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The lawsuit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/arizona-us-sen-mark-kelly-sues-hegseth-over-penalties-illegal-orders-video\" target=\"_blank\">began earlier this year<\/a> after the Defense Department began proceedings to downgrade Kelly\u2019s retirement rank and pay for appearing in the 90-second video.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The six Democrats, all of whom are former members of the military or intelligence agencies, said in the video they understood the people working in those fields \u201care under enormous stress and pressure right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cAmericans trust their military. But that trust is at risk,\u201d they said. \u201cThis administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">They went on to say the \u201claws are clear\u201d and that illegal orders can and must be refused. The video ended with them saying, \u201cDon\u2019t Give up the Ship,\u2019 a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usna.edu\/100Objects\/Objects\/object-11.php\" target=\"_blank\">long-held phrase<\/a> in the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Democrats\u2019 video infuriated President Donald Trump, leading the Defense Department to open an investigation into Kelly.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Justice Department officials also launched an investigation into Kelly, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan and New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Justice Department\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfromthestates.com\/article\/democrats-decry-authoritarian-trump-attempt-indict-them-illegal-orders-video\" target=\"_blank\">failed to get a grand jury to indict<\/a> the lawmakers earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Kelly cites effects on millions of retired veterans<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Kelly wrote on social media Tuesday, after the Justice Department filed its appeal on behalf of the Defense Department, that the Trump administration didn\u2019t \u201cknow when to quit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cA federal judge told Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth that they violated my constitutional rights and chilled the free speech of millions of retired veterans,\u201d Kelly wrote. \u201cThere is only one reason to appeal that ruling: to keep trampling on the free speech rights of retired veterans and silence dissent. I went to war to defend Americans\u2019 constitutional rights and I won\u2019t back down from this fight, no matter how far they want to take it.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against him during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. \u00a0(Photo by Heather Diehl\/Getty Images) WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration must explain to a circuit court before the end of March exactly why it appealed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against him during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. \u00a0(Photo by Heather Diehl\/Getty Images) WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration must explain to a circuit court before the end of March exactly why it appealed...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\",\"name\":\"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":684},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":242,\"caption\":\"WestplexNews.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\",\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brad Hildebrand\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Westplexnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com","og_description":"U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., speaks on the failed grand jury indictment against him during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. \u00a0(Photo by Heather Diehl\/Getty Images) WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration must explain to a circuit court before the end of March exactly why it appealed...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019","datePublished":"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/"},"wordCount":571,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/","name":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019 - WestplexNews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-28T00:10:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/markkelly2026-1024x684-ka6WVZ.jpg","width":1024,"height":684},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/doj-appeals-ruling-in-sen-mark-kelly-illegal-orders-case-kelly-vows-i-wont-back-down\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DOJ appeals ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly illegal orders case; Kelly vows: \u2018I won\u2019t back down\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","name":"WestplexNews.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization","name":"WestplexNews.com","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","width":690,"height":242,"caption":"WestplexNews.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0","name":"Brad Hildebrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brad Hildebrand"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Westplexnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}