FBI raids home of female Washington Post journalist as part of probe into leaked government secrets
The FBI executed a search warrant on the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into the leaking of government secrets.
Hannah Natanson was at the property in Alexandria, Virginia, when federal agents arrived Wednesday morning, the newspaper said.
The 29-year-old journalist was raided as part of a probe into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials, per the outlet.
Natanson said her Garmin watch, phone, and two laptops were seized during the raid. One of the laptops was her personal computer, while the other was issued by the Washington Post.
Investigators told Natanson she is not the focus of the investigation, which is looking into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland system administrator who has top secret security clearance.
Perez-Lugones was charged just days ago with illegally retaining classified documents after the FBI searched his home and found classified intelligence reports inside a lunchbox in his basement in Laurel, about 20 miles from Annapolis, according to an affidavit.
He logged into a classified system and took notes throughout the week on a notepad before taking the pages home with him, according to an affidavit filed Friday, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Perez-Lugones, a Navy veteran, also accessed the databases last fall and took a screenshot of a classified report about a foreign country, the affidavit stated.
The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was at her home in Virginia when federal agents descended on her home on Wednesday morning, the Washington Post said
The FBI executed a search warrant on the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into the leaking of government secrets
‘Perez-Lugones had no need to know and was not authorized to search for, access, view, screenshot or print any of this information,’ the legal document continued.
During his initial court appearance on Friday, Perez-Lugones was ordered to be held in federal custody pending a detention hearing, per The Baltimore Sun.
Natanson covers the ‘Trump administration’s reshaping of the government and its effects,’ according to her X profile.
According to the outlet, she specifically covers the ‘most high-profile and sensitive coverage during the first year of the second Trump administration.’
The Daily Mail contacted the FBI for comment.
Investigators told Natanson she is not the focus of the investigation, which is looking into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Marylandsystem administrator who has top secret security clearance
Breaking news… updates to follow.
