Politics
Former Stars and Stripes staff sue Pentagon leadership over alleged unlawful firings
Three journalists at the military publication claim Defense Department officials violated First Amendment rights after staff spoke out against potential censorship.
The short version
- Three recently dismissed Stars and Stripes staff members filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., challenging their terminations by the Pentagon.
- The lawsuit names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell as defendants.
- Plaintiffs claim their dismissals violated First Amendment rights and retaliated against them for public interviews defending editorial independence and for reporting on aircraft carrier conditions.
- The Pentagon declined to comment on the suit's specific allegations.
Key facts
- Publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., challenging their terminations from Stars and Stripes.[Associated Press · CBS News]
- The legal action names the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell among the defendants.[Associated Press · CBS News]
- Separation notices given to the journalists cited insubordination as the cause for dismissal.[CBS News]
- The lawsuit alleges the firings were retaliation for a press interview defending the outlet's independence from military censorship and for reporting on conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.[Associated Press · CBS News]
- Lederer reported that an active-duty military service member was assigned as deputy publisher under him without prior notification before his dismissal.[Associated Press]
What remains uncertain
- The Department of Defense has not yet provided a substantive legal response or defense regarding the suit's allegations, with a spokesperson declining to comment.[Associated Press · CBS News]