Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes staff

Plaintiffs argued their termination would chill protected expression

A federal judge on Friday declined to block the Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes journalists who claim they were illegally disciplined for speaking out about the military news outlet’s editorial independence. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte are unlikely to prove the Pentagon violated their First Amendment free speech rights.

The three journalists filed suit last Thursday in Washington, D.C., to challenge their firings. They said the Pentagon moved against them for defending the outlet’s editorial independence.

McFadden, nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, wrote that Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence “is not at stake here.”

The plaintiffs argued, according to McFadden’s ruling, that “their termination will chill the protected expression of themselves and others at Stripes.” McFadden found that argument insufficient. “Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a chill here,” he wrote.

The Pentagon partially funds Stars and Stripes, the news outlet that serves U.S. service members.

McFadden, a U.S. District Judge, ruled that the plaintiffs had not met the legal threshold for blocking the firings while their broader First Amendment challenge proceeds.