A federal judge in California ruled Thursday evening that the Trump administration’s classification of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s designation of Anthropic as a national security threat amounted to “unlawful retaliation” that violated the First Amendment, and she described the decision as “arbitrary and capricious.” Lin further noted that Anthropic was denied due process, a protection guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment.

Earlier this year, Hegseth and President Donald Trump labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk and directed all federal agencies—including those outside the Defense Department—to cease working with the maker of the Claude AI model. The conflict arose after Anthropic established strict safety guardrails that would have prevented the Pentagon from using its models for fully autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of American citizens. The Pentagon denied any intention to use Anthropic’s technology for anything beyond lawful purposes and suggested that Anthropic might be attempting to dictate how the military could employ models it had purchased.

In her ruling, Lin stated that the government’s “words and deeds confirm that the challenged actions were based on a desire to make a public example out of Anthropic for its ‘arrogance’ in criticizing the government.” She highlighted inconsistencies between the supply chain label and other government actions, such as Hegseth’s proposal to apply the Defense Production Act to Anthropic—a move that would imply the company was vital to national security rather than a threat to it. Lin also referenced the Department of Defense’s continued pursuit of a contract with the company and its collaboration with Anthropic’s new model, Mythos, for cybersecurity purposes.

Lin emphasized that Anthropic “undisputedly lacks” any backdoor access to its technology once it is transferred to the DOD. “Though the Department of War is undisputedly free to select the AI vendor of its choice, the evidence demonstrates that the broad measures imposed on Anthropic were illegal and baseless,” she wrote. “The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” she added. “We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.”

Anthropic filed two complaints against the DOD in March, one in California and another in Washington, D.C. The D.C. case is still pending.