Key facts
- Three Stars and Stripes staffers, including Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Publisher Max Lederer, and reporter Lara Korte, have filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon.
- The lawsuit alleges that the staffers were illegally fired for making public statements supporting the publication's editorial independence and for publishing a story on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
- Named defendants include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Andrew Brey.
- The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order and permanent relief to block their terminations.
- This lawsuit follows similar First Amendment complaints filed by the publication's ombudsman and two advisory board members.
Three staffers at the military publication Stars and Stripes have sued the Pentagon and top officials, alleging they were illegally pushed out over statements protected by the First Amendment. Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Publisher Max Lederer, and reporter Lara Korte filed a 45-page lawsuit Thursday in Washington, seeking to block their terminations.
The lawsuit claims the Department of Defense charged the plaintiffs with insubordination for publicly supporting the publication's editorial independence and for retaliating against a story that exposed conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The complaint states the defendants are attempting to fire the plaintiffs for speaking as private citizens in support of the press's freedom to cover military operations and in retaliation for their reporting.
Named defendants include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Andrew Brey. The plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers for Good Government, Government Accountability Project, and the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.
This legal action follows two other First Amendment complaints filed this year. Jacqueline Smith, the publication's ombudsman, sued the Department of Defense in June, alleging similar violations. Two advisory board members also sued the Pentagon in June over "modernization" efforts, accusing the agency of illegal censorship.
Stars and Stripes, despite partial funding from the Pentagon, operates independently and covers military news like a commercial newspaper. In January, the Pentagon announced plans to "modernize" the outlet and "refocus its content away from woke distractions," moving to repeal regulations that protected the publication's editorial independence. The lawsuit also asks that this repeal be declared unlawful.
According to the complaint, the Pentagon's actions were prompted by an August 12 directive to separate Slavin and Korte, citing their statements on a July 5 "CBS Sunday Morning" segment as insubordination. Lederer, who did not fire them, announced his retirement, stating his leadership philosophy differed from the Defense Department's direction. He was subsequently pushed out before his retirement date, and Slavin and Korte were also fired, with their termination citing "statements to the media."