Courtney Williams, a US army veteran, was arrested by the FBI for allegedly leaking Delta Force secrets to journalist Seth Harp. The DOJ noted that a grand jury had indicted the 40-year-old for ‘alleged transmission of classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist (the Journalist)’.
Williams exchanged several messages with Harp, who has not been named in the DOJ document. He wrote a book and an accompanying article for Politico, which highlighted Williams throughout. The two exchanged about 180 text messages between 2022 and 2025.
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In one of the messages, Williams said she was ‘concerned about the amount of classified information being disclosed’. In a separate message, she said ““I might actually get arrested . . . for disclosing classified information.” In a message to a third party, Williams had added she was "probably going to jail for life.”
Here's all you need to know about Courtney Williams, the army veteran arrested for sharing military secrets.
Courtney Williams: 5 things to know
- Williams is from Wagram, North Carolina. She allegedly violated 18 U.S.C. § 793(d). It is a provision of the Espionage Act of 1917 and criminalizes unauthorized retention, communication, or transmission of "national defense information" by someone in lawful possession of it.
- From 2010 to 2016, Williams worked for a Special Military Unit (SMU). She held Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. The DOJ document noted she was trained to properly handle, safeguard, and store classified information. She had also signed a Classified Nondisclosure Agreement, which as per the DOJ ‘confirmed her understanding that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information could constitute a criminal offense’.
- As per Williams' LinkedIn, she's been an Army interrogator. “During my military service I served as the battalion retention NCO and a HUMINT squad leader while assigned to Fort Bragg. I also served as the S2 NCOIC and a squad leader while assigned to the Defense Language Institute in California. Prior to leadership positions I served as a HUMINT team member assigned to Fort Hood,” her job description reads. She was then a Signature Reduction Specialist with the US military. Then Williams went on to become an activist and is currently an educator, as per her bio. Williams graduated from the American Military University with an Associate of Arts degree and a Bachelor's in psychology.
- Williams and Harp, who has not been named, had over 10 hours of phone calls and over 180 text messages. As per the DOJ, “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.” Some of the statements attributed to Williams by Harp reportedly contained ‘classified national defense information’. The complaint notes that Williams also ‘made unauthorized disclosures of national defense information via her social media accounts.’
- Harp's book, The Fort Bragg Cartel: drug trafficking and murder in the Special Forces, came out in 2025. It details sexual harassment and discrimination experiences that Williams faced during her eight years with Delta Force. Harp also wrote an article where Williams recalls how higher-ups massaged her shoulders, made lewd comments about her body and even propositioned her for sex.
Here's all you need to know about Courtney Williams, the army veteran arrested for sharing military secrets.
Courtney Williams: 5 things to know
- Williams is from Wagram, North Carolina. She allegedly violated 18 U.S.C. § 793(d). It is a provision of the Espionage Act of 1917 and criminalizes unauthorized retention, communication, or transmission of "national defense information" by someone in lawful possession of it.
- From 2010 to 2016, Williams worked for a Special Military Unit (SMU). She held Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. The DOJ document noted she was trained to properly handle, safeguard, and store classified information. She had also signed a Classified Nondisclosure Agreement, which as per the DOJ ‘confirmed her understanding that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information could constitute a criminal offense’.
- As per Williams' LinkedIn, she's been an Army interrogator. “During my military service I served as the battalion retention NCO and a HUMINT squad leader while assigned to Fort Bragg. I also served as the S2 NCOIC and a squad leader while assigned to the Defense Language Institute in California. Prior to leadership positions I served as a HUMINT team member assigned to Fort Hood,” her job description reads. She was then a Signature Reduction Specialist with the US military. Then Williams went on to become an activist and is currently an educator, as per her bio. Williams graduated from the American Military University with an Associate of Arts degree and a Bachelor's in psychology.
- Williams and Harp, who has not been named, had over 10 hours of phone calls and over 180 text messages. As per the DOJ, “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.” Some of the statements attributed to Williams by Harp reportedly contained ‘classified national defense information’. The complaint notes that Williams also ‘made unauthorized disclosures of national defense information via her social media accounts.’
- Harp's book, The Fort Bragg Cartel: drug trafficking and murder in the Special Forces, came out in 2025. It details sexual harassment and discrimination experiences that Williams faced during her eight years with Delta Force. Harp also wrote an article where Williams recalls how higher-ups massaged her shoulders, made lewd comments about her body and even propositioned her for sex.
“The things you see on TV and think they don’t exist, they really do exist,” she was quoted saying in the Politico article.