WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Defense Department will remove media offices from the Pentagon and immediately close the area known as Correspondents' Corridor, a department spokesperson said. Journalists will eventually be able to work from an annex outside the Pentagon, the spokesperson said.

The announcement comes after U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of a newspaper that filed a lawsuit in December against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The lawsuit claimed the new credentialing policy violated journalists' constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

Reporters have used the area known as Correspondents' Corridor for decades to cover the U.S. military.

Judge Friedman ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the press credentials of seven journalists from the newspaper and struck down some of the agency's restrictions on news reporting, according to court filings. "The undisputed evidence shows that the policy is designed to weed out 'disfavored journalists' and replace them with those who are 'on board and willing to serve' the government," Judge Friedman said.

The Defense Department disagrees with the ruling and is pursuing an appeal, the department spokesperson said. The spokesperson said security concerns prompted the restrictions on press access.

Department spokesperson Sean Parnell did not specify how long opening the annex would take. "It will be available when ready," Parnell said.

Under the latest Pentagon rules, journalists will still have access to the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews arranged through the department's public affairs team, but they will have to be escorted, a department spokesperson wrote on social media. Judge Friedman did not strike down the portions of the policy that restricted which parts of the building journalists could access, according to court filings.

The Pentagon Press Association criticized the decision to remove media offices. "This is a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week's ruling," the Pentagon Press Association said. "At such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans."

Dozens of reporters gave up their Pentagon credentials last fall after the military required journalists to agree to new restrictions to maintain daily access.