Former US Army employee charged over alleged classified information leak

What happened

Courtney Williams, a former US Army employee from Wagram, North Carolina, was indicted on 8 April 2026 over allegations that she passed classified defence information to people not authorised to receive it, including a journalist.

The US Department of Justice, which published details of the case, said the FBI had arrested the 40-year-old the previous day. She is accused of breaching Section 793(d) of the Espionage Act. The charge remains an allegation, and she is presumed innocent unless proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

According to the department’s account of court documents, Williams communicated repeatedly with the journalist between 2022 and 2025. Prosecutors said their contact included more than 10 hours of telephone calls and over 180 messages.

In one message, the journalist identified their occupation and explained that they were seeking information about the military unit for an article and a book. Both publications subsequently named Williams as a source and attributed statements to her, some of which prosecutors allege contained classified national defence information.

The department also alleged that Williams disclosed national defence information without authorisation through her social media accounts. Its release did not identify the journalist, the publications or the social media platforms involved.

Prosecutors cited messages sent on the day the article and book appeared in which Williams expressed concern about how much classified information had been published. In exchanges with other people, she allegedly acknowledged the possibility of arrest, referred to an Espionage Act provision and said she had long understood the potential legal consequences of disclosure.

The background

Williams worked for a Special Military Unit of the Army from 2010 to 2016, according to court documents described by the department. The release did not name the unit or specify her job title, but said her duties gave her daily access to a wide range of classified material.

She held a Top Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information, a category of information subject to additional access restrictions. Such access is distinct from permission to share information outside authorised channels.

The department said Williams received instruction on handling, protecting and storing classified information. She also signed a nondisclosure agreement acknowledging that sharing classified material without authorisation could amount to a criminal offence.

The dates set out by prosecutors place the alleged communications with the journalist several years after her employment with the unit ended. This makes the case relevant to a particular aspect of insider risk: sensitive knowledge acquired through legitimate work can remain a concern after a person leaves, even when their access to workplace systems has ended.

A separate case previously covered by Insider Threat Roundup involved a former US defence employee jailed for removing classified documents. Margaret Anne Ashby received a three-year sentence after admitting unlawful removal of material from a secure government facility in Georgia. That case concerned physical removal of documents; the allegations against Williams concern disclosure to other people and through social media.

What people are saying

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said people granted security clearances had a duty to protect the classified material entrusted to them. He said the National Security Division would pursue accountability when that responsibility was breached.

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, alleged that Williams’s disclosures put the United States, military personnel and allies at risk. He said the bureau’s warning about unauthorised disclosure applied to former clearance holders as well as those still holding cleared positions.

Reid Davis, the FBI’s special agent in charge in North Carolina, said the military unit’s operational methods, tactics and techniques were classified. He said access should be confined to people with the appropriate clearance and a work-related need for the information.

US Attorney Ellis Boyle, whose office covers the Eastern District of North Carolina, said prosecutors would bring criminal charges over leaks to protect military personnel. The Justice Department’s release did not include a response from Williams or a defence lawyer.

What happens next

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is investigating. The prosecution team comprises Assistant US Attorney Logan Liles and National Security Division trial attorneys Menno Goedman and Matt Hracho. The US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina also assisted.

The announcement did not give a date for Williams’s next court appearance, describe her custody status or state a possible sentence. Her alleged private messages about imprisonment are not a statement of the penalty she could face.

The release also did not explain precisely what information prosecutors consider classified or provide a detailed assessment of any resulting harm. Those limits mean the public announcement sets out the prosecution’s allegations, rather than a complete account of the evidence or any defence to the charge.