FBI Arrests Former Army Special Operations Employee For Leaking Classified National Defense Information to Media
The FBI arrested a former Special Operations Command employee for leaking classified national defense information to the media.
Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, allegedly transmitted classified material to individuals not authorized to see it, including a journalist, the DOJ said.
She was arrested on Tuesday and indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday.
Per FBI Director Kash Patel:
FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media.
Outstanding work by FBI Charlotte and the FBI Counterintelligence & Espionage Division – as well as our DOJ partners.
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.
According to federal prosecutors, between 2022 and 2025, Williams disclosed Top Secret classified information in communication with a journalist via phone and text message.
“Clearance holders accept a solemn obligation to protect the classified information entrusted to them,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “That they do so is critical to the security of our Nation. When clearance holders violate that trust, the National Security Division will act swiftly to hold them accountable.”