Photo: ALLISON JOYCE / AFP / Getty Images
A former Army employee from North Carolina, Courtney Williams, was arrested and charged with leaking classified national defense information to a journalist, according to the Justice Department. Williams, age 40, appeared in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, following her arrest by the FBI.
Federal prosecutors allege that Williams transmitted secret military details—including “tactics, techniques and procedures” used by a special military unit at Fort Bragg—to a journalist between 2022 and 2025. Williams previously held top secret security clearance while working for the Army from 2010 to 2016. The criminal complaint says Williams and the journalist exchanged over 10 hours of phone calls and more than 180 messages during their conversations.
The unnamed journalist was seeking information about Williams’ military unit for a book and an article, both published on August 12, 2025. Details in court documents and public reporting match work by Seth Harp, whose book, The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, and a Politico Magazine article both featured Williams by name. In communications on the day of publication, Williams expressed concern about the amount of classified information being disclosed and said she feared authorities would use it “to legally persecute me."
Harp, who is a former Army veteran and investigative journalist, posted on social media that Williams “is a courageous whistleblower who exposed rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the US Army’s Delta Force.” He added, “Her actions were entirely above-board, legitimate, and admirable,” and claimed she was indicted “to retaliate against a woman who only sought to improve workplace conditions for female soldiers and civilian employees of the military."
The magazine article and book detailed Williams’ experience as a civilian support worker for Delta Force at Fort Bragg. According to the reporting, Williams described being sexually harassed by men in her unit and eventually filed a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She later settled with the Army after her security clearance was stripped.
The FBI Director, Kash Patel, praised the arrest and said, “Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests. This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way."
Williams is currently represented by a federal public defender, but court records indicate she may retain a private attorney. Prosecutors have asked that Williams be detained ahead of trial, with a hearing scheduled for Monday. If convicted, Williams faces up to 10 years in prison.
Her arrest came days after President Donald Trump threatened to jail journalists over recent national security leaks, stating, “We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say: ‘National security. Give it up or go to jail.'"