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March 5, 2026

5 entries on this date.

Pentagon brands Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' in retaliation for refusing unrestricted military use of its AI models

On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense formally notified Anthropic that the company and its products were designated a "supply chain risk," effective immediately — a label normally reserved for firms tied to foreign adversaries and reportedly the first publicly applied to an American company. The designation, which bars defense contractors from using Anthropic's technology, followed the breakdown of contract talks: the Pentagon demanded access to Anthropic's Claude models "for all lawful purposes," while the company's acceptable-use policy barred their use for fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans. After Anthropic refused to drop those limits, President Trump on February 27 ordered agencies and contractors to halt business with the company and called its stance a "disastrous mistake," and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tied the designation directly to the firm's refusal to comply — even as the military continued using Claude to support intelligence and targeting work.

Pentagon formally designated Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' after AI-guardrails dispute

On March 5, 2026, the Department of Defense formally notified Anthropic that the company and its products were designated a "supply chain risk," a label normally reserved for foreign adversaries, after Anthropic refused to drop acceptable-use limits barring its Claude models from mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon, which gave the military up to six months to phase out the technology, framed the move as ensuring it could use the tools "for all lawful purposes"; Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called the action "retaliatory and punitive" and said the company would challenge it in court. The designation came even as the U.S. military was reportedly using Claude to support its operations in the Iran campaign.

ICE and DHS failed to return property to Minnesota immigrants ordered released, prompting contempt threat

On March 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim held a "show cause" hearing in Minneapolis after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security failed to return work permits, driver's licenses, Social Security cards, cash, and other property to more than two dozen immigrants whom courts had ordered released from Operation Metro Surge detentions. Tunheim threatened daily civil fines if the agencies missed a roughly 30-day deadline to return the property or compensate the detainees, rejecting U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen's argument that the failures were mistakes rather than willful noncompliance. It was the second Minnesota federal judge in a week to threaten contempt over the government's handling of Metro Surge release orders.

ICE and CoreCivic held disabled detainee in unsanitary conditions at Stewart Detention Center, forcing him to crawl through mold and feces to shower

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its contractor CoreCivic held Rodney Taylor, a 47-year-old double-amputee Gwinnett County barber, in unsanitary and unaccommodated conditions for more than a year at the CoreCivic-run Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Rep. Lucy McBath disclosed at a March 5, 2026 House Judiciary Committee hearing that Taylor went six days without a shower stool and then was forced to remove his prosthetics and crawl across a bathroom floor covered in mold and feces to shower; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told the committee she was unfamiliar with the case.

DOJ proposes rule letting the Attorney General halt state bar discipline of its attorneys

On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice published a proposed rule (RIN 1105-AB82; 28 CFR Part 77) granting the Attorney General authority to review any state, territorial, or D.C. bar disciplinary complaint against a current or former DOJ attorney for conduct in their federal duties, and to demand that the bar suspend its investigation pending that review. The rule states that if a bar refuses, "the Department shall take appropriate action to prevent the bar disciplinary authorities from interfering." It followed bar inquiries into DOJ lawyers such as Lindsey Halligan, whose prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James were dismissed after a judge found her appointment unlawful.