RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An Army veteran has been charged with sharing classified information about an elite commando unit with a journalist, with officials stating the breach posed risks to national security and U.S. military personnel.
Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, faces federal charges for allegedly disclosing sensitive details related to her role with a “special military unit” at Fort Bragg.
Reid Davis, the FBI special agent in charge in North Carolina, stated, “Anyone divulging information they vowed to protect to a reporter for publication is reckless, self-serving and damages our nation’s security.”
Williams has been accused of breaching a provision of the Espionage Act and was brought before a federal court in Raleigh, where a magistrate judge unsealed the charges against her.
According to federal records, she has been detained by the U.S. Marshals Service pending further hearings.
Officials point out that while neither the journalist nor the specifics of the military unit involved are disclosed in court documents, the timelines align with an article and book authored by Seth Harp, which discusses the Army’s secretive Delta Force.
The complaints indicate that Williams had been in communication with the unnamed journalist for several years, purportedly exchanging details that led to the publication of sensitive information.
Harp, defending Williams, referred to her as a “brave whistleblower,” suggesting that her disclosure was retaliatory rather than an act against national security.
A FBI affidavit captures multiple exchanges between Williams and her contacts regarding the classified information, noting over 10 hours of calls and 180 messages shared late last year.
Williams had been involved with sensitive military operations since 2010 as an operational support technician and had agreed to safeguard confidential material during that time, which frames her alleged actions as particularly injurious to national security interests.
