FBI Arrests Former Army Employee for Leaking Classified Information

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested and charged a North Carolina resident and former United States Army employee for allegedly sharing classified information with a journalist.

Courtney Williams, 40, who had worked for a Special Military Unit (SMU) from 2010 t0 2016, allegedly communicated with a journalist between “2022 and 2025” regarding “information about the SMU in support of an upcoming article and book” the journalist was writing, according to a press release from the Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

While working for the SMU, Williams “held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.” She not only “received training as to the proper handling, safeguarding, and storage of classified information,” but also “signed a Classified Nondisclosure Agreement,” according to the press release.

The DOJ press release said the journalist went on to publish “a book and article that named Williams as a source and attributed specific statements to her”:

As alleged, between 2022 and 2025, Williams repeatedly communicated with the Journalist via telephone and text messages. During this period, Williams and the Journalist had over 10 hours of telephone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages. In one such message, the Journalist identified themselves as a journalist and stated that they sought information about the SMU in support of an upcoming article and book. After these communications with Williams, the Journalist published a book and article that named Williams as a source and attributed specific statements to her. Some of these statements contained classified national defense information. In addition to her disclosures to the Journalist, Williams also made unauthorized disclosures of national defense information via her social media accounts.

On the day the article and book were published, Williams exchanged several messages with the Journalist. In one such message, Williams stated that she was “concerned about the amount of classified information being disclosed.” In a separate message to a third party, Williams added that, “I might actually get arrested . . . for disclosing classified information.” In a subsequent message, Williams citied a statutory provision of the Espionage Act. And when asked how she knew that she may face legal consequences for her disclosures to the Journalist, Williams responded, “I have known my entire career,” adding that “they tell you everyday . . . 100 times a day.” Finally, in a message to a different third party, Williams stated that she was “probably going to jail for life.”

Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said:

Courtney Williams swore an oath to safeguard our nation’s secrets as an employee supporting a Special Military Unit of the Army, but she allegedly betrayed that oath by sharing classified information with a media outlet and putting our nation, our warfighters, and our allies at risk.

While the journalist is not identified in the press release, Williams was reportedly mentioned in a book and an article published in August 2025. “Williams was named in a 2025 book by Seth Harp, titled ‘The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces,’ published by Viking Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House,” NBC News reported. “Harp also named her in a Politico Magazine story. Both were published Aug. 12.”

In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel commended the “outstanding work” done by the FBI’s Charlotte division and the FBI’s Counterintelligence & Espionage Division, along with the agency’s “partners” at the DOJ.

“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,” Patel wrote.

“Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests,” Patel added. “This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way.”