OLYMPIA, WA – Two Republican Congressmen are pressuring state House leaders to reconsider their decision to deny media credentials to several journalists, claiming that it violates their First Amendment rights.

The Center Square recently reported that the Citizen Action Defense Fund threatened the state with a lawsuit after it denied a press pass to radio talk show host Ari Hoffman. Press passes have also been denied to journalist Jonathan Choe and Brandi Kruse, who hosts a daily livestream.

Press credentials give reporters access to areas of the Capitol Building where the general public is not allowed without the escort of a lawmaker or staff member.

In a letter to House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, Reps. Dan Newhouse and Michael Baumgartner wrote that denying them credentials is “a blatant violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and its protection of the freedom of the press.

“The job of the press is to agitate, investigate, and scrutinize our leaders and institutions, which distinguishes democracy from dictatorship,” the letter states. “It is truly baffling and troubling that we find ourselves today addressing such clear violations of these bedrock principles.”

Until last year, press credentialing for decades was overseen by the Capitol Correspondents Association, which last year handed that authority back over to the state Legislature. The Senate then barred reporters from the legislative wings unless invited.

During that time, the attorneys for both the state House and Senate were in communication with the State Attorney Generals Office, which has also previously advised the Governor’s Office on press credentialing, according to documents obtained through a public records request.