A former Army employee, Courtney Williams, was arrested and charged with leaking classified information about Delta Force, a U.S. Army Special Military Unit (SMU), to a journalist. Federal prosecutors allege Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, divulged classified details between 2022 and 2025 to an unnamed reporter, later identified as Seth Harp, whose book and article published the information.
Williams, who worked for the Army from 2010 to 2016 and held a top-secret security clearance, is charged with one count of illegally communicating national defense information, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Court records show she was arrested on April 7 and ordered detained ahead of a preliminary hearing on April 13.
According to an FBI affidavit, Williams and Harp exchanged over 10 hours of phone calls and 180 messages, during which she provided documents, photographs, and other materials. Some of this information was published in Harp’s book, The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, and a Politico article. Williams expressed concern in texts about the amount of classified information disclosed, stating she believed the details would not be published.
Williams’ access to classified information was suspended in 2015-2016 following an internal investigation. The FBI and Justice Department emphasized the seriousness of the breach, with officials stating it put national security at risk. Williams faces potential life imprisonment if convicted under the Espionage Act.
The case highlights ongoing federal efforts to prosecute leaks of classified information, with FBI Director Kash Patel warning of stricter enforcement against such disclosures.