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Three former journalists from Stars and Stripes filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Pentagon, claiming their recent terminations violated constitutional protections and retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment rights. The complaint, submitted to U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., names former editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, longtime publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte as plaintiffs. The defendants include the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and principal deputy assistant Andrew Brey.
According to the lawsuit, the firings stemmed from the journalists’ unauthorized appearance on a CBS Sunday Morning segment last month discussing the Pentagon’s planned overhaul of the military newspaper, coupled with the publication of a report detailing deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during its extended deployment in the Middle East. The lawsuit states that Pentagon leadership initially tolerated the CBS interview but moved to terminate Slavin and Korte just one day after the Abraham Lincoln story appeared in print, after demanding Lederer carry out the firings.
The three journalists maintain they were exercising their rights as private citizens speaking on behalf of press freedom and military readiness. “Our goal is to protect the rights of service members and their families to a free and independent press,” the trio said in a statement. “This lawsuit is about safeguarding that mission and ensuring our civilian and military journalists can do their jobs without retaliation.”
The Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit. In January, the department announced a comprehensive overhaul of Stars and Stripes, stating it would modernize operations and refocus content away from what officials called “woke distractions.” The department previously terminated the Stars and Stripes ombudsman in April for criticizing Trump administration oversight of the publication.
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