Fired Stars and Stripes journalists sue Trump administration for censorship

Three staff members from the Stars and Stripes military newspaper have filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense, alleging that their recent firing was part of an effort to erode the paper’s independence.In Thursday’s court filings, the newspaper’s publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte argued that their First Amendment rights to free speech had been infringed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Editor of US newspaper Stars and Stripes reportedly fired under Trumplist 2 of 3Trump’s war on Stars and Stripes: Why has military newspaper chief quit?list 3 of 3Publisher of US military newspaper resigns over differences with governmentend of listThe Stars and Stripes has long billed itself as an independent source for military news, though it receives government funding for its operations.But last week, the three journalists received notices of termination from the Pentagon that reportedly accused them of insubordination.That has raised questions about the Defense Department’s longtime commitment to respecting the newspaper’s editorial independence.Thursday’s complaint accuses the department and several of it...