The Pentagon said Tuesday evening that Anthropic poses an “unacceptable risk to national security,” marking the agency’s first response to lawsuits filed by the artificial intelligence lab challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision last month to classify the company as a supply chain risk. As part of its complaint, Anthropic asked the court to temporarily block the Department of Defense from enforcing its trademark.

The core of the Defense Department’s argument, presented in a 40-page filing in federal court in California, is a concern that Anthropic might “attempt to disable its technology or proactively change the behavior of its model” before or during “combat operations” if the company feels “its corporate red lines have been crossed.”

Last summer, Anthropic signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon to deploy its technology within classified systems. In subsequent negotiations over the terms of the contract, Anthropic said it did not want its AI systems to be used for mass surveillance of Americans, and that the technology was not ready for use in targeting or launching lethal weapons decisions. The Pentagon has objected that a private company should not dictate how the military uses technology.

Several organizations have spoken out against the Department of Defense’s treatment of Anthropic, arguing that the Department could have just terminated its contract. Several technology companies and employees — including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft — as well as legal rights groups have filed amicus briefs in support of Anthropic.

In its lawsuits, Anthropic accused the Department of Defense of violating its First Amendment rights and punishing the company on ideological grounds.

A hearing on Anthropic’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.