The
U.S. Justice Department released the information below:
The
FBI arrested Courtney Williams (seen in the above photo), 40, of Wagram, North
Carolina yesterday and a federal grand jury indicted her today in connection
with her alleged transmission of classified national defense information to
individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist (the Journalist). Williams
allegedly violated 18 U.S.C. § 793(d).
“Clearance holders accept a solemn obligation to protect the
classified information entrusted to them,” said Assistant Attorney General for
National Security John A. Eisenberg. “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.”
“We trust our war fighting individuals to cooperate as a team to
protect our military and country,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District
of North Carolina Ellis Boyle. “We will pursue criminal charges to keep these
warriors safe whenever we find leakers exalting their own feelings over the
safety of the United States.”
“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,” said
Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and
Espionage Division. “This indictment should serve as a stark warning to all
current and former clearance holders thinking of violating their positions of
trust. If you jeopardize our national security by disclosing classified
information without authorization, the FBI will hold you accountable for your
crimes.”
“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.”
According to court documents, from 2010 to 2016, Williams worked
for a Special Military Unit (SMU) and held a Top Secret / Sensitive
Compartmented Information security clearance. As a clearance holder,
Williams received training as to the proper handling, safeguarding, and storage
of classified information. Williams also signed a Classified Nondisclosure
Agreement which, in relevant part, confirmed her understanding that the
unauthorized disclosure of classified information could constitute a criminal
offense. In her role at the SMU, Williams had daily access to a broad range of
classified information.
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.”
The FBI Charlotte Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Logan Liles for the Eastern District of
North Carolina and Trial Attorneys Menno Goedman and Matt Hracho of the
National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are
prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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