Jacqueline Smith, the former ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
The suit alleges that her April dismissal violated her First Amendment rights after she publicly opposed Pentagon restrictions on the military newspaper.
The lawsuit was filed in the U. S.
District Court for the District of Columbia.
It names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell as defendants.
According to the complaint, Smith was terminated ten days after writing an April 8 column that criticized the Pentagon's elimination of syndicated content and comics from Stars and Stripes.
Smith stated that her congressionally mandated three-year term was not scheduled to expire until December 2026.
"I’m charging that my First Amendment rights were violated for speaking out in the columns that I’ve written since Jan.
15, which were critical of what I saw as the Pentagon’s attempts to control the editorial content of Stars and Stripes," Smith said.
Smith acknowledged the risk of speaking out but emphasized her responsibility to the publication and the First Amendment.
"I knew it was risky to speak out, but my responsibility to Stripes and the First Amendment was paramount," she said.
She explained that her role was specifically tasked with maintaining editorial independence for the military community.
"The troops, they deserve to have the unfiltered news, not what the Defense Department wants them to hear," Smith said.
The former ombudsman warned that the new directives could change the foundational nature of the historically independent publication.
"By having a government agency say, 'You cannot print this,' it's the beginning of saying more – 'You cannot print that,' or 'You must print this.'
It's editorial control," she said.
Smith expressed concern over a March 2026 memo stating that content must align with military standards.
She argued that the endgame is turning Stars and Stripes into a public affairs propaganda machine.
"Stripes content must be consistent with good order and discipline of the military," she noted, adding that such language is used in military court martials and could be applied arbitrarily.
In her published columns, Smith directly targeted the leadership's new directives. "Pete Hegseth doesn't want you to see cartoons in this newspaper anymore," she wrote.
She stated that the removal of these sections prompted widespread pushback from readers, who saw it as censorship.
Smith admitted that her public commentary was a direct challenge to administration officials.
"Poking the bear, in a way, but I had not at all expected that retaliation," she said.
Her legal representation stated that the litigation seeks an injunction to restore Smith to her position.
The lawsuit claims that the government retaliated against her for exercising her First Amendment rights and for telling the public the truth about efforts to undermine Stripes' editorial independence.
Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin stated that an average of 1.4 million people read the publication daily across online platforms and overseas print editions.
He emphasized that the publication has historically operated independently despite its Pentagon funding. "We're trying to provide independent news for the military community," Slavin said.
Slavin noted that a March directive signed by the deputy secretary of defense introduced significant operational constraints, including a ban on paid wire services like the Associated Press and the removal of comics.
"We were barred from running comics, and we were no longer to run news from paid wire services as well," he said, adding that losing access to these services restricted their capacity to cover breaking news.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell outlined the administration's intent to reshape the outlet's focus via social media posts in January.
"We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale…" Parnell said.
He stated that the changes would realign the publication with its original mission: reporting for warfighters.
"No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints," he specified.
The newspaper has historical references regarding its independence, dating back to its revival under General John Pershing.
"It was General Pershing who said, we need a paper for American troops overseas, so they know what is going on and have a sense of why they're fighting," said Catherine Giordano, former archivist.
Pershing's original message to readers read: "The paper, written by the men in the service, should speak the thoughts of the New American Army and American people from whom the Army has been drawn.
It is your paper. Good luck to it."
Giordano noted that past leadership protected the paper's cartoonists from censorship by top generals like George Patton.
"These were the kinds of cartoons that Mauldin drew that soldiers loved because it depicted how war was," she said.
She recalled that Patton tried to have the paper banned because he wanted crisp and spiffy-looking military men.
Reporter Lara Korte, who covers the Middle East from Germany, stated that she continues to publish critical stories without interference.
"I'm working for Stars and Stripes, not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker.
I'm here to cover the military community," Korte said.
She noted that she has not experienced direct corporate restrictions on her current front-page reporting and that coverage of military family evacuations proceeded without internal obstacles.
However, she acknowledged uncertainty surrounding ongoing legal and operational developments. "I do feel like there could be more to come," she said.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to comment on the matter, citing the department's standard policy regarding active lawsuits.
