The Justice Department announced Wednesday that the FBI had arrested a former Army employee whom federal prosecutors accused of leaking classified information to a journalist. Courtney Williams, 40, of North Carolina, was arrested Tuesday and charged Wednesday with transmitting classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist.
Williams held top secret security clearance for her work with the military from 2010 to 2016, the Justice Department said in a news release. Court documents allege that Williams communicated with a journalist from 2022 to 2025, during which they had over 10 hours of phone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages.
The journalist, who is not named in court documents, told Williams that they were seeking information about her military unit in connection with an upcoming article and book, court documents say. The criminal complaint says Williams was mentioned by name in both an article and a book by the same journalist published on the same day — Aug. 12, 2025.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive defenders of Williams frame her as a whistleblower who exposed serious misconduct within the military. Seth Harp, the journalist who wrote about Williams, issued a statement on social media calling her a courageous whistleblower who exposed rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the US Army's Delta Force.
Harp stated that Williams was adamant about being quoted by name and made no attempt to conceal her identity because her actions were entirely above-board, legitimate, and admirable. He added that she was indicted not to protect classified information but to retaliate against a woman who only sought to improve workplace conditions for female soldiers and civilian employees of the military.
The August magazine article detailed Williams' experience working at Fort Bragg, headquarters of Joint Special Operations Command, where she was employed as mission support for the covert unit Delta Force. According to the article, Williams described being sexually harassed and belittled by men in her unit, including its commander. She subsequently filed grievances with the Army Special Operations Command inspector general and a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives and national security advocates emphasize that leaking classified information, regardless of the whistleblower's motivations, constitutes a serious crime that threatens military operations and national security. The Justice Department charged Williams under provisions related to transmitting classified national defense information to unauthorized persons.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement published in the August magazine article that this Department has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of harassment. However, the statement did not address whether leaking classified information could be justified as a means of exposing workplace misconduct.
The charges against Williams come amid heightened scrutiny of leaks involving sensitive national security information. Court documents allege that Williams communicated with the journalist over three years, exchanging more than 180 messages and participating in over 10 hours of phone calls. The criminal complaint noted that on the day the article and book were published, Williams expressed concern about the amount of classified information being disclosed.
Williams is being represented by the federal public defender in the Eastern District of North Carolina, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What the Numbers Show
Court documents reveal specific details about the alleged leak: Williams communicated with the journalist from 2022 to 2025, a period of approximately three years. During this time, they had over 10 hours of phone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages.
Williams held top secret security clearance for her work with the military from 2010 to 2016, a period of six years. The alleged communications with the journalist occurred after her security clearance had been terminated.
The criminal complaint against Williams includes messages to her mother in which she indicated awareness that she might be arrested for disclosing classified information. In one message, she cited a statutory provision of the Espionage Act.
The case involves two publications: a book titled 'The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces' by Seth Harp, published by Viking Press (an imprint of Penguin Random House), and a Politico Magazine story. Both were published on Aug. 12, 2025.
The Bottom Line
The charging of Courtney Williams with leaking classified information to a journalist highlights the tension between national security laws and claims of whistleblowing to expose workplace misconduct. The case is complicated by Williams' allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination within the military, which she reported through official channels before her security clearance was stripped.
The Justice Department's action follows President Trump's recent threats to jail journalists over leaks of classified information, specifically mentioning the missing airman case involving an American fighter jet shot down in Iran. Legal experts will be watching to see how the Williams case proceeds and whether it establishes precedent for future leak investigations involving journalists.
Williams is represented by the federal public defender in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Defense Department directed inquiries to the Army, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.