Three former senior staffers at the Stars and Stripes military newspaper have filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging their recent firings violated their First Amendment rights. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington, D.C., claims the employees were terminated in retaliation for speaking out against government interference in their work and for publishing reports on military conditions.
The plaintiffs include Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte. They accuse the Pentagon, which partially funds the newspaper, of violating their free speech rights.
According to the lawsuit, Slavin was dismissed for insubordination after he publicly objected to potential censorship by the U.S. military in an interview with CBS News. Korte participated in the same interview. The suit states that both were punished for publishing a report detailing deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
"Stripes' historical editorial independence is critical to its core mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community, particularly servicemembers and their families stationed overseas," the lawsuit asserts.
Lederer was reportedly fired shortly after announcing his planned retirement at the end of September. The lawsuit indicates he was dismissed after the Pentagon placed a new, active-duty deputy publisher under his supervision without his prior knowledge.
The legal action is supported by attorneys from the Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers for Good Government, Government Accountability Project, and a Yale Law School clinic. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the specific allegations in the lawsuit.