Three former employees of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes have filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon, alleging their recent firings constitute retaliation for protected speech and violate their First Amendment rights. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., names the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell as defendants.
Ousted editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte claim that their terminations were a direct result of their participation in a "CBS Sunday Morning" segment discussing proposed overhauls of the newspaper, and a subsequent report on alleged deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. According to the lawsuit, Pentagon leadership demanded Lederer fire Slavin and Korte the day after the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln report was published.
"Defendants are attempting to fire Plaintiffs for speaking up as private citizens in support of the press’s freedom to cover military operations, its need to reach all servicepersons, and in retaliation for their publication of a news report on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during its extended tour of duty in the Mid-East," the lawsuit states. "This action seeks to prevent the blatant violation of the First Amendment rights of these journalists and challenges the U.S. Department of Defense’s extraordinary censorship efforts in violation of both the First Amendment and DoD regulations and policies."
Slavin, Lederer, and Korte stated in a joint message to Fox News Digital that their goal is "to protect the rights of service members and their families to a free and independent press." They added, "Stars and Stripes has served them for generations, and that independence is essential to keeping military communities fully and accurately informed."
In January, Parnell announced the Department of War's intention to overhaul Stars and Stripes, stating the publication would return to its original mission of reporting for warfighters. He indicated a focus on modernizing operations and refining content away from "woke distractions that syphon morale," with an emphasis on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, and survivability.
The Pentagon previously fired the Stars and Stripes ombudsman in April after the individual had been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's oversight of the paper. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit.