Appeals Court Temporarily Allows Pentagon to Require Escorts for Reporters

The appeals court’s panel said the Department of War has shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its case.

The Pentagon is seen from a flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 29, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images/TNS

A U.S. appeals court on April 27 temporarily allowed the Department of War to require reporters entering Pentagon grounds to be escorted while the government appeals a lower court ruling.

In a 2–1 decision, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed an April 9 order issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, which found the department’s revised press access policy violated his previous order by mandating escorts for reporters entering the Pentagon.