E-Paper
Who is Seth Harp? All about journalist who received Delta Force secrets from Army veteran Courtney Williams
US Army Special Operations veteran Courtney Williams is facing federal charges for allegedly leaking classified Delta Force secrets to journalist Seth Harp.
A US Army Special Operations veteran named Courtney Williams is facing federal charges for allegedly transmitting classified military tactics and procedures to journalist Seth Harp for his 2025 book on Fort Bragg. On Wednesday, April 8, Williams was charged due to allegations she provided classified information to Harp.
When Williams was hired in 2010 and again when she left her job in 2015, she signed a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement, the complaint stated, according to WRAL News. The criminal complaint, which details communication between Williams and the journalist, does not name Harp. However, Harp wrote a book and an accompanying article highlighting Williams throughout.
The complaint stated that Williams spent at least 10 hours on the phone with Harp. She exchanged about 180 text messages with him between 2022 and 2024.
A message from Harp discusses the exchange of data: “Just wanted to let you know I dropped this in the mail today for the thumb drive. It’s stamped and addressed and ready to be sent back, no need to go to the post office!”
Williams reportedly saved documents on her computer with file names “Batch 1 for Reporter,” “Batch 2 for Reporter”. There were at least 10 batches of documents that Williams was planning to share with Harp, which included personnel documents from her time with the Special Military Unit (SMU).
During the reviewing of the article amid investigation, the complaint said it “determined that it contained information that is properly classified as SECRET.”
It added, “The classified information comprised, in part, specific Tactics, Techniques & Procedures (TTPs) utilized by this (SMU) to execute sensitive missions.”
Who is Seth Harp?
An investigative reporter and foreign correspondent, Harp writes about the intersection of armed conflict and organized crime. He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and has reported from countries including Iraq, Syria, Mexico, Ukraine, and elsewhere for Harper’s, the New Yorker, The Intercept, and Columbia Journalism Review. He has written for the New York Times and the Texas Observer too.
Harp practiced law for five years before stepping into journalism, according to New America. He was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Texas. He even served in the U.S. Army Reserve during college and law school, and notably did one tour of duty in Iraq. He lives in Austin, Texas, which is where he was born and raised.
Harp said in a statement about the charge against Williams, per WRAL News, “Courtney Williams is a brave whistleblower and truth-teller. Former Delta Force operators disclose "national defense information" on podcasts and YouTube shows every day, but the government is going after Courtney for the sole reason that she exposed sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the unit. This is a vindictive act of retaliation, plain and simple.”
Read More | Trump's ex-aide John Bolton who backed India amid tariffs indicted over classified material
Harp’s book – The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces – was released in August 2025. The book talks about various sexual harassment and discrimination experiences Williams had during her eight years with Delta Force, which is an elite counterterrorism unit based at Fort Bragg. It often operates in secrecy.
The book was issued alongside an article with an excerpt from the book in a Politico article. Williams reportedly texted him saying she was concerned about the article.
“Other than a few factual errors, I would definitely have been concerned with the amount of classified information being disclosed. I thought the things I was telling you so you could have a better general understanding how the [SMU] was set up or operated would not be published and it feels like an entire TTP was sent out in my name giving them a chance to legally persecute me and probably [Person 1],” Williams wrote.
Williams, after being relieved of her position, filed an EEOC complaint for discrimination. She told Harp that she was later given a settlement “sufficient to buy a small house in North Carolina.”
