SEATTLE — Washington state lawmakers were well within their rights when they refused to issue press passes to three conservative media figures, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case that reflects a national debate over who qualifies as a journalist.
The Democratic-controlled Washington House of Representatives early this year refused to issue press credentials that would have given the three access to parts of the Capitol in Olympia that are off-limits to the general public. The authority said they are not real journalists because they are involved in the political arena – defending certain agendas and hosting or speaking at rallies.
The three filed a federal lawsuit and asked the court to issue a temporary, emergency restraining order that would force the House to grant them passes in the closing days of the session. The group includes Ari Hoffman, host of “Seattle’s Conservative Talk” on AM 570 KVI; Brandi Cross, host of the “unDivided” podcast; and Jonathan Choi, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a conservative think tank.
Their attorney, Jackson Maynard, told U.S. District Judge David Estudillo on Monday that the process used to deny them their press credentials was vague and arbitrarily applied, violating their rights to due process, and withholding access because they disagreed with lawmakers’ political views violated their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press.
“In the remaining 72 hours of the legislative session, the House will likely grapple with a multi-billion-dollar budget and other legislation of great importance,” Maynard told the judge Monday. “My clients are the eyes and ears of the people in the legislative process. Their voices and opinions should not be excluded.”
In his ruling, Estudillo said the group failed to show that they were denied passes because of their political affiliations — which would be a violation of their First Amendment rights — and failed to show that the process was arbitrary, which would have violated their due process rights.
“The court recognizes that both parties have legitimate interests at stake here,” Estudillo said in his order. But denying the temporary restraining order is appropriate because the three have failed to show that they are likely to succeed in their free press or due process claims, and “the House has a significant interest in ensuring that reporters allowed access to the House floor meet stated accreditation standards so that the House can ‘debate and pass bills without interruption or lobbying in this area.’”
Legislatures across the country have grappled with how to deal with the changing media landscape. TV, radio and newspaper reporters are joined by podcasters and other producers of user-generated content. He created conservative influencers Regular manifestations At press conferences and events hosted by the Trump administration.
Jessica Goldman, a House lawyer, told Estudillo that the group was not denied passes because of their views but because they were activists for political reasons, not independent observers.
“It’s also important to understand that the plaintiffs here were not just attending an event, which journalists do all the time,” Goldman said. “They were the leaders of these events that they attended. They were the main speakers at them. They attached their name, their fame, their notoriety to trying to get these… laws passed by the Legislature.”
For example, besides being a radio host, Hoffman is also involved in Let’s Go Washington, a political action committee that campaigns for initiatives. Cross is also involved in that group, as well as Future 42, where she criticizes Democratic policymakers and lobbies for or against proposed bills.
Choi requested the press release as a representative of the Discovery Institute/Frontlines TPUSA. Discovery is a think tank, and Turning Point USA says its “mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to advance the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government,” the lawyers said in their filing.
The Washington State Capitol Correspondents Association’s guidelines for granting press passes state that a person must be a “bona fide journalist” and there must be a line “between professional journalism and political or policy work.” The Assembly turned the certification process over to the Legislature after the three threatened to sue in 2025. The Senate eventually issued the permits, but the House took over the process and denied the passage requests.
The standards for granting press credentials are “guided by the principle that access to the House floor should be granted to the press who are independent observers and observers, not participants who have a stake in the proceedings, regardless of their political views,” Goldman said in a lawsuit.
Other legislatures have faced similar questions.
Journalist Brian Schott covered the Utah Legislature for years with a press pass, but was denied accreditation after founding the news website Utah Policy Watch. The legislature’s policy excluded “bloggers, freelancers, and other independent journalists.” He filed a lawsuit but his case was dismissed.
Republican lawmakers in the Iowa Senate Changed their policy Allowing journalists on the Senate floor in 2022, arguing that they cannot decide who should get media credentials at a time when there are new media outlets.