A former employee at Fort Bragg, who held top-secret clearance, is facing charges for allegedly leaking classified military strategies to a journalist. The individual reportedly confessed to her mother about the potential legal consequences of revealing sensitive information, as detailed in a federal complaint.
Courtney P. Williams, aged 40 and an Army veteran linked with a Special Military Unit (SMU) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was taken into custody by the FBI on Tuesday. She faces accusations of illegally sharing national defense secrets, including classified mission tactics, with an investigative journalist over several years, as federal prosecutors state.
The complaint reveals that Williams had a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance, granting her access to extremely sensitive military operational details. This included tactics, techniques, and procedures, often referred to as TTPs, utilized by elite forces.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday that Williams is accused of violating 18 U.S.C. § 793(d).
Investigators claim that from 2022 to 2025, Williams engaged in extensive communication with a journalist. This included lengthy phone conversations, approximately 180 text messages, and the distribution of documents and materials, which subsequently appeared in published articles and a book naming her as the source.
Previously, Courtney Williams served with a Special Military Unit (SMU) at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
FBI Director Kash Patel took to X on Wednesday after the arrest, saying the Bureau “will not tolerate” leakers of classified intel.
“Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests,” Patel wrote. “This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way.”
The Associated Press reported that while the journalist is not named in the court filings, “dates and details match” both an article and book written by Seth Harp about the Army’s Delta Force.
An excerpt from Harp’s book, “The Fort Bragg Cartel” was published in Politico’s magazine last August under the title, “My Life Became a Living Hell: One Woman’s Career in Delta Force, the Army’s Most Elite Unit,” featuring Williams’ testimonials alleging sexual harassment while serving.
Williams, an Army veteran, held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance. (Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images)
Harp released a statement to WRAL-TV about Williams, calling her a “brave whistleblower and truth-teller,” despite reported reservations she shared with the journalist after the book was published.
“Former Delta Force operators disclose `national defense information’ on podcasts and YouTube shows every day, but the government is going after Courtney for the sole reason that she exposed sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the unit. This is a vindictive act of retaliation, plain and simple,” Harp’s statement read.
The published materials, according to the government, contained classified information at the “SECRET” level with “NOFORN” restrictions, meaning it was not authorized for release to foreign nationals — raising concerns it could be accessed by U.S. adversaries.
“Clearance holders accept a solemn obligation to protect the classified information entrusted to them,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a DOJ release. “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.”
Evidence outlined in the complaint includes messages indicating Williams mailed a thumb drive containing materials to the journalist, as well as files saved on her computer labeled “Batch 1 for Reporter” and similar titles, suggesting an organized effort to provide information.
On the day the article and book were published, Williams allegedly texted the journalist expressing concern about the scope of the disclosure, writing that she was troubled by “the amount of classified information being disclosed” and that it felt like “an entire TTP was sent out in my name.”
In a separate conversation with her mother, Williams allegedly acknowledged the legal risk more directly.
“I might actually get arrested, and I don’t even get a free copy of the book,” she wrote, adding the legal basis as “for disclosing classified information.”
Authorities say Williams had signed multiple non-disclosure agreements during her time working with the military unit and was explicitly warned that unauthorized disclosure of classified material could violate federal law.
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly over Fort Bragg, N.C. (Sgt. Steven Galimore/U.S. Army)
The complaint also notes that the leaked information could pose serious risks, including exposing military personnel to danger and compromising operations if adversaries studied the disclosed tactics.
“The tradecraft, tactics, and techniques used by the U.S. military unit in this case are classified and should be shared only with those with proper clearances and a need to know in order to protect American lives and safeguard classified National Defense information,” said Reid Davis, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
“These are serious accusations. Anyone divulging information they vowed to protect to a reporter for publication is reckless, self-serving and damages our nation’s security.”
Authorities say Williams had signed multiple non-disclosure agreements and was warned that releasing classified material could violate federal law.
The FBI Charlotte Field Office is investigating the case, with “valuable assistance” provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Fox News Digital reached out to Politico.
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