The Associated Press is suing three members of the Trump administration after being banned from Trump’s events, the Oval Office and Air Force One.
As the suit states, the ban came after the Associated Press continued to use the phrase “the Gulf of Mexico” after Trump said he had renamed it “the Gulf of America.” The AP claims the ban violates the First Amendment as well as the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The news organization is now seeking a court order to declare the barring of its reporters from those areas unconstitutional and to rescind the action.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, is brought against Trump White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.
Per the suit, starting Feb. 11, White House officials informed the AP that reporters would not be able to enter certain areas of the White House “unless the AP began referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.”
Starting Feb. 14, the White House announced on X that AP journalists were now indefinitely banned from “access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.” That ban remains in place for the AP as of the filing.
The AP decided to refer to the Gulf of Mexico “by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen,” per its guidelines that “[a]s a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.”
“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government. The Constitution does not allow the government to control speech. Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom,” the suit reads.
Per the complaint, Wiles emailed the AP on Feb. 18, saying that their attention was focused on the AP in particular. because its Stylebook “is used by many as a standard for writing and editing.” The email ended with Wiles sayings “we remain hopeful that the name of the [Gulf] will be appropriately reflected in the Stylebook where American audiences are concerned,” which the AP says implies that changing the name would restore the news organization access to the White House.