Journalist’s Lawsuit Highlights Rare State Department Identity Error

By Staff Reporter | Washington, D.C. | August 4, 2025

In a surprising admission tucked inside a federal court filing, the U.S. State Department acknowledged that it mistakenly identified veteran journalist Muhammad Jalil Afridi as a U.S. citizen when completing his press badge application in October 2024. The revelation came as part of the government’s response in an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by Afridi, who alleges retaliatory conduct, viewpoint discrimination, and unlawful press access revocation.

According to court records, the department staff—not Afridi—completed the application and incorrectly marked him as a U.S. citizen, despite his long-documented status as a legal resident and credentialed foreign journalist. The error raises serious questions about internal vetting procedures, especially given that Afridi had attended press briefings at the State Department, Pentagon, and White House for more than a decade without issue.

Legal experts say this kind of mistake is highly unusual. While there have been past cases of agencies like ICE mistakenly detaining U.S. citizens, there are no known instances where the U.S. government falsely identified a non-citizen as a citizen on an internal form—only to later cite it in punitive or exclusionary actions.

“This is not a typo; this is a potentially career-damaging bureaucratic failure,” Afridi said in a statement. “If I had filled out that form, they would have accused me of fraud. But they filled it out, made the error, and then acted like I misrepresented myself.”

Afridi’s case continues to garner attention as a rare clash between a foreign journalist and the highest levels of U.S. foreign policy apparatus. His lawsuit is currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where it may set powerful precedent on press freedom, government accountability, and administrative misconduct.