‘A Dark Day for Press Freedom’: Pentagon Reporters Sound Off After Getting the Boot

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Pentagon press corps sounded off, Wednesday, after officially having their credentials revoked for refusing to agree to restrictions on their reporting.

In a new statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the Pentagon Press Association — which represents reporters who cover the Department of Defense from scores of major media organizations — denounced the Pentagon’s move to bar them from the building.

“Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said. “It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.

“The Pentagon Press Association’s members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.”

Just one news organization — the far-right One America News — agreed to a new policy it rolled out which forbids journalists from accessing or soliciting information not made publicly available by the Defense Department. The policy has gotten a ton of criticism from both left-leaning and right-leaning outlets. Tuesday on Fox News, retired General Jack Keane denounced the policy as an attempt to “spoon-feed” journalists with only the information they want publicly disclosed, rather than having the press conduct any oversight.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the policy in the White House Tuesday — calling the restrictions “common sense stuff.”

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