Three former employees of the Stars and Stripes newspaper have filed a federal lawsuit against the US Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The dismissed journalists, Max Lederer, Erik Slavin and Lara Korte, claim that the Pentagon acted unlawfully, violated their First Amendment rights and retaliated against them for defending editorial independence and publishing a critical report.

According to The Guardian, the dismissals were triggered by an 11 August article about deteriorating living conditions and problems with food and water for 5,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Lederer refused to dismiss his colleagues over the reporting and over his previous comments to CBS News about the threat of censorship. Rather than carry out the order, he announced his retirement. The Pentagon immediately dismissed him and appointed an active-duty service member to lead the publication.

In their lawsuit, the journalists argue that the publication’s editorial independence from the military chain of command is essential to providing service members with impartial information.

The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

(max)