Judge rules Pentagon actions against Anthropic were illegal

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Pentagon acted illegally when it labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk after the company criticized the Department of Defense’s approach to AI. Lin found the government’s actions were driven by a desire to make an example of Anthropic for its “arrogance” rather than evidence that the company posed a sabotage risk.

The dispute began in February, when President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Anthropic of endangering national security. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei resisted allowing unrestricted military use of the company’s technology, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous armed drones.

In a 59-page ruling, Lin wrote that neither the Constitution nor the federal statute cited by the government permits sweeping penalties based mainly on Anthropic’s criticism of the administration’s views. Anthropic welcomed the decision and said it remains focused on working with the government on national security uses of AI.

The government is expected to contest the ruling. A separate Anthropic case remains pending in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., involving another Pentagon rule tied to supply chain risk designations.