Case: Dardarian v. Department of Defense

1:26-cv-01965 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: June 3, 2026

Clearinghouse coding in progress

Case Summary

[This case is temporary while we research the case]. On June 3, 2026, two subscribers and members of the Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military's independent newspaper, filed this complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs sued the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell. The plaintiffs alleged that beginning in January 2026, the defendants took a series of actions to seize unprecedented editorial control over Stars and Stripes ("Stripes"), which has had a history of editorial independence dating to the Civil War. The plaintiffs asserted five counts under the APA and the First Amendment, and sought declaratory relief, vacatur, and permanent injunctions against both the repeal rule and the DoD memorandum.

Summary Authors

(6/14/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73435016/parties/dardarian-v-department-of-defense/


Judge(s)

Cooper, Christopher Reid (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Goldstein, Elena (District of Columbia)

Scher, Allyson R. (District of Columbia)

Wolfson, Paul R.Q. (District of Columbia)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:26-cv-01965

Complaint

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

Complaint

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73435016/dardarian-v-department-of-defense/

Last updated June 21, 2026, 3:08 a.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12463303) filed by SUSAN DARDARIAN, WILLIAM CHURCH. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Summons USAO Summons, # 3 Summons USAG Summons, # 4 Summons Parnell Summons, # 5 Summons Hegseth Summons, # 6 Summons Feinberg Summons, # 7 Summons DOD Summons, # 8 Civil Cover Sheet )(Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/03/2026)

1 Exhibit A

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2 Summons USAO Summons

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3 Summons USAG Summons

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4 Summons Parnell Summons

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5 Summons Hegseth Summons

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6 Summons Feinberg Summons

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7 Summons DOD Summons

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8 Civil Cover Sheet

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June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

Clearinghouse
2

SEALED DOCUMENT filed by WILLIAM CHURCH, SUSAN DARDARIAN re 1 Complaint, (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)(Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/03/2026)

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

3

NOTICE of Appearance by Paul R.Q. Wolfson on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Wolfson, Paul) (Entered: 06/03/2026)

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

4

NOTICE of Appearance by Elena Goldstein on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Goldstein, Elena) (Entered: 06/03/2026)

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

5

SUMMONS (6) Issued Electronically as to All Defendants, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmtm) (Entered: 06/03/2026)

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

Case Assigned to Judge Christopher R. Cooper. (zmtm)

June 3, 2026

June 3, 2026

6

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 06/08/2026. (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/15/2026)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

7

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. SEAN PARNELL served on 6/8/2026 (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/15/2026)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

8

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. PETE HEGSETH served on 6/8/2026 (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/15/2026)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

9

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. STEPHEN FEINBERG served on 6/8/2026 (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/15/2026)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

10

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE served on 6/8/2026 (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/15/2026)

June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026

11

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 6/3/2026. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/2/2026. (Scher, Allyson) (Entered: 06/16/2026)

June 16, 2026

June 16, 2026

Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Speech and Religious Freedom

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Key Dates

Filing Date: June 3, 2026

Case Details

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-01965

Recommended Citation