Federal agents arrested Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, after a federal grand jury indicted her on allegations she transmitted classified national defense information to people not authorized to receive it, including a journalist.
According to court documents, courtney williams worked for a Special Military Unit and held a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance, and she signed nondisclosure agreements acknowledging the criminality of unauthorized disclosures.
The criminal complaint says investigators found phone records showing at least ten hours of calls and more than 180 messages between Williams and reporter Seth Harp from 2022 through 2025, and that Williams saved files with names such as Batch 1 for Reporter and planned at least ten batches for a reporter.
Authorities say material that later appeared in Harp’s book The Fort Bragg Cartel, published in August 2025, and an accompanying Politico excerpt contained information properly classified as SECRET, including specific Tactics, Techniques and Procedures used by the unit, the complaint states.
On the day the Politico excerpt ran, Williams messaged that she was “concerned about the amount of classified information being disclosed” and warned it felt like “an entire TTP was sent out” in her name, and she wrote she might “actually get arrested … for disclosing classified information,” the filings show.
Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg said clearance holders carry a “solemn obligation” to protect classified information, and FBI officials warned the complaint’s allegations could put national security, military personnel and allies at risk.
Reactions And Related Details
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest and wrote on X that the bureau would not tolerate those who betray the country and put Americans in harm’s way, according to a Justice Department release and public posts.
Seth Harp defended Williams in statements and called her a “brave whistleblower,” saying the case was retaliation for exposing sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the unit, and he sharply criticized the FBI for focusing on the leak rather than other criminal investigations.
Harp denied receiving a drive containing classified material, saying the drive contained a public EEOC complaint too large to send by email, while the complaint and excerpts say Williams had been debriefed about ongoing obligations to protect classified information beyond her employment.
Court documents and reporting also say Williams served as a custodian of sensitive documents, including fake passports used by undercover agents, and that she filed an EEOC discrimination claim after leaving the unit and received a settlement she had said was sufficient to buy a small house in North Carolina.
