The FBI arrested Courtney Williams, a 40-year-old ex-employee of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on allegations of leaking critical Pentagon information.
Williams was taken into custody on April 7 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina for allegedly communicating national defense information against the Espionage Act.
The indictment claims she shared classified details, categorized as “SECRET,” including specialized tactics and procedures used by her unit at Fort Bragg, with an unauthorized journalist. Some of this information was later featured in a published article and a book, according to prosecutors said.
From 2010 to 2016, Williams served as a civilian operational support technician for the SMU, holding a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance that granted her considerable access to classified data.
She signed a nondisclosure agreement at both the beginning and end of her tenure, recognizing that any unauthorized disclosure could lead to criminal charges. After 2016, she shifted to a role that did not involve classified materials.
Reports indicate that between 2022 and 2025, Williams engaged in over 180 text messages and more than 10 hours of calls with the journalist, identified as Seth Harp. During these interactions, she allegedly provided a variety of documents and photographs containing sensitive national defense information.
Harp, a journalist with Rolling Stone, released a book titled The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces on August 12, 2025, which included insights from Williams.
Both the book and a relevant article from Politico drew from interviews with her and cited various statements attributed to Williams. Court documents reveal that the SMU assessed the published content and deemed it to contain classified information.
Prosecutors referenced specific text messages to demonstrate her understanding of the sensitivity of the disclosures. In one message, Williams noted concerns about the volume of sensitive information presented, saying, “Other than a few factual errors, I would definitely have been concerned with the amount of classified information being disclosed…. it feels like an entire TTP (tactics, techniques, and procedures) was sent out in my name giving them a chance to legally persecute me.”
She also expressed apprehension to a family member about the possibility of arrest for disclosing classified material.
NEW: U.S. Army veteran Courtney Williams charged with leaking classified information to a journalist pic.twitter.com/cZzhbgiI1Y
— BNO News (@BNONews) April 8, 2026
Williams faced her initial court proceedings in Raleigh on Wednesday.
A magistrate judge ordered her to be temporarily detained by U.S. Marshals pending a detention hearing scheduled for the following week. She has been assigned a federal public defender, but as of now, no formal defense counsel has stepped forward in the public records.
