The Knight Institute is filing an amicus brief in two related appeals in New York Times v. Department of Defense (NYT I and II), two cases challenging unprecedented restrictions on journalists’ ability to access the Pentagon for newsgathering and reporting about the U.S. military. These restrictions take aim at independent reporting by the Pentagon press corps, including by barring them from entering the building without a government escort and attempting to punish them for publishing information that has not been preapproved by the government.

The Institute’s brief argues that the government’s new restrictions violate the First Amendment’s public forum doctrine because they are impermissibly motivated by a desire to suppress critical journalism and because they undermine the very purpose of allowing journalists to access the Pentagon in the first place—to facilitate accurate and timely reporting on matters of war and peace that informs and serves the public.

Status: Briefing ongoing in both appeals.

Case Information: N.Y. Times Co. v. Dep’t of Def., No. 26-5113 (D.C. Cir.) (NYT I); N.Y. Times Co. v. Dep’t of Def., No. 26-5253 (D.C. Cir.) (NYT II)