Fired Stars and Stripes staffers sue Pentagon, claiming retaliation over reporting on deteriorating aircraft carrier

Three Stars and Stripes journalists - publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte - have filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon, alleging retaliation for their reporting on the deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. The trio claims their firings were a violation of their First Amendment free speech rights, which the Pentagon is accused of infringing upon by censoring their work.

Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer was dismissed shortly after announcing his retirement, while editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte were both fired last week. The newspaper's publisher stated that the Pentagon had installed a new deputy publisher without his prior knowledge. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, asserts that the trio's reporting on the USS Abraham Lincoln was punished in retaliation.

Their lawsuit states that the newspaper's historical editorial independence is crucial for its mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community. The Defense Department and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the defendants named in the suit, which was originally published on Fortune.com.