The FBI executed a rare search warrant Wednesday morning at the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing her phone, two laptops (one personal, one work-issued), and a Garmin watch as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials.
Investigators told Natanson she is not the focus of the probe and she has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The warrant targeted an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based system administrator with top-secret clearance, who was arrested last Thursday and charged with unlawfully retaining national defense information.
The Washington Post also received a subpoena Wednesday seeking communications between the contractor and other employees.
The action drew sharp criticism from The Post's Executive Editor Matt Murray, who called it an "extraordinary, aggressive action" in an email to the newsroom that "raises profound questions" about constitutional protections for journalism. Such home searches of reporters are exceptionally rare under federal regulations designed to shield a free press from aggressive tactics aimed at identifying sources or obtaining information.
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that the search—at the request of the Department of War (Pentagon)—targeted a journalist "obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor." She added that the Trump administration "will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security."
Perez-Lugones, a Navy veteran, appeared in court Friday and remains in federal custody in Maryland. He is scheduled for another court appearance Thursday.