Fired Stars and Stripes journalists sue Hegseth and Pentagon spokesperson

Washington — Three fired Stars and Stripes journalists sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in federal court Thursday, claiming the Trump administration is attempting to fire them illegally as part of its "extraordinary censorship efforts" against the military news outlet.

The plaintiffs — publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte — were given separation notices last week. The cause cited was insubordination. Slavin and Korte said the alleged insubordination was related to interviews they gave to CBS News for a piece on "CBS Sunday Morning" that aired in July, in which they defended the independence of the partially taxpayer-funded outlet.

Their complaint says they are "facing imminent retaliation and termination in violation of their First Amendment and statutory rights."

They alleged that they were fired both for "speaking up as private citizens in support of the press's freedom to cover military operations," and because of their reporting on rough conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

"This action seeks to prevent the blatant violation of the First Amendment rights of these journalists and challenges the U.S. Department of Defense's ... extraordinary censorship efforts in violation of both the First Amendment and DoD regulations and policies," the lawsuit reads.

CBS News has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

This is a breaking story; it will be updated.

Former Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief says his firing "was a real shock"