A federal judge on Friday rejected an effort by three former Stars and Stripes journalists to undo the Pentagon’s decision to fire them.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied the temporary restraining order sought by Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor in chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte. In his ruling, McFadden said the journalists “ultimately fail to carry their significant burden to show that they are clearly entitled to a preliminary injunction.”
In a joint statement provided to Fox News Digital, Lederer, Slavin and Korte said they were disappointed by the court’s decision but stressed that it was not the “final judgment” in the case.
“We are reviewing the decision with our attorneys and considering our next steps,” Lederer, Slavin and Korte said. “We continue to believe that the Pentagon should not be able to fire journalists for speaking out against censorship and defending the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes.”
“This case is not primarily about the three of us. It is about whether the servicemembers who swear to defend the Constitution, and the military families who serve alongside them, can rely on a free and independent press. It is also about whether the military and civilian journalists at Stars and Stripes can do their jobs without fear of retaliation,” they added.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell welcomed the ruling in a post on social media, casting it as a legal victory for the department.
“The court applied settled Supreme Court law: public employees do not receive First Amendment protection when they speak with the government’s voice,” Parnell wrote on X. “The record showed these interviews were arranged with supervisor involvement, conducted at Stripes workplaces, and presented the speakers in their official titles, discussing the paper they run. That is government speech, not private-citizen speech.”
“Stars and Stripes is a Department of War publication funded to inform the military community,” Parnell continued. “The Department has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure it remains focused on the force — warfighting, readiness, and the men and women who serve — rather than becoming a platform for airing employee grievances. We will follow the law and complete the personnel process.”
Last month, the Pentagon fired the journalists from the military newspaper over alleged insubordination. In return, they filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation and violation of their First Amendment rights.
The firings stem from Slavin and Korte’s unauthorized participation in a July “CBS Sunday Morning” segment about the Pentagon’s efforts to overhaul the paper and Lederer’s refusal to fire them at the direction of Pentagon leadership.
According to the lawsuit, the trio allege Pentagon leadership “understood these interview statements expressed personal opinions, and therefore took no immediate action, despite their displeasure” and that it wasn’t until Stars and Stripes published its report on the alleged strife aboard USS Abraham Lincoln that the Pentagon’s stance had shifted.
The lawsuit notes that Pentagon leadership demanded Lederer to fire Slavin and Korte just one day after the report was published.
Listed as the defendants in the lawsuit are the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Parnell and his principal deputy assistant, Andrew Brey.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Slavin insisted the Pentagon never explicitly stated how he and Korte were deemed insubordinate for the CBS News interview, noting that he had given many other media interviews without having to seek authorization from Pentagon leadership.
“This isn’t about me. It’s not about three jobs. It’s about whether servicemembers and their families are gonna have access to independent news and information and news that they can trust,” Slavin said. “And it’s my concern for our staff that they might face further retaliation if they make statements along the lines of ‘Hey, we work for Stars and Stripes and we provide independent news.’ So this is about protecting an institution, in my mind.”
