Name: Pentagon Contractor Arrested, FBI Searches Home of Washington Post Reporter in Classified Documents Probe
Uploaded: 2026-01-15T04:47:49.000Z
Description: Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based system administrator with a top-secret security clearance, was charged with unlawfully retaining classified national defense information.

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On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the arrest of a Pentagon contractor and a search warrant executed at the home of a Washington Post journalist as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged leak of classified, sensitive military information.

Patel <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2011475428301554097?s=20">said</a> on X that “this morning the @FBI and partners executed a search warrant of an individual at the Washington Post who was found to allegedly be obtaining and reporting classified, sensitive military information from a government contractor—endangering our warfighters and compromising America’s national security.”

He added that “the alleged leaker was arrested this week and is in custody,” and that “as this is an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment.”

Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2011456849711612019?s=20">wrote</a> on X that “this past week, at the request of the Department of War, the Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”

She said “the leaker is currently behind bars” and 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 and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”

Federal agents executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at the Virginia home of reporter Hannah Natanson, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzY4MzY2ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzY5NzQ5MTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NjgzNjY4MDAsImp0aSI6IjI0MzI3OWFiLTY2ZjAtNDViZC05YWVkLTlkZGY1NWQzMGZhOSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI2LzAxLzE0L3dhc2hpbmd0b24tcG9zdC1yZXBvcnRlci1zZWFyY2gvIn0.fE_s8RF0vtsFpuayuttKj-W2AEdFZH1YRmEhZnyOwHA&nonce=6740a384a2074c7089e24b3015b184ef&utm_source=email&utm_medium=ret-transactional-email&utm_campaign=magic-link-failed-login&utm_email=">according</a> to The Washington Post. The search was conducted as part of an investigation into a government contractor suspected of illegally retaining classified materials. Agents seized Natanson’s phone, two laptops, including one issued by the newspaper, and a Garmin watch.

Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland-based system administrator with a top-secret security clearance, was charged with unlawfully retaining classified national defense information. He <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FBIsearcheshomeofWashingtonPostreporterinclassifieddocumentsprobenewspapersays/373bd02f4f9ea446dd71c1203da467f3/text">allegedly</a> had materials marked “SECRET” that were discovered in his lunchbox and basement. He appeared in federal court earlier this week on charges related to unlawful retention of national defense information and is scheduled for further proceedings.

Natanson, a journalist known for her coverage of the federal workforce and the Trump administration’s restructuring of federal agencies, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, according to her employer.

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-news-outlets-reject-pentagon-press-access-policy-2025-10-14/">In 2025,</a> the Department of War, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, implemented new press access rules at the Pentagon. Journalists were required to sign a pledge agreeing not to obtain or publish information unless it had been specifically authorized for release by the Pentagon. The new policy also imposed strict limitations on where reporters could go inside the building without official escorts.

The Pentagon’s 17-page policy said reporters who failed to comply could have their press credentials revoked, a departure from a decades-old practice that allowed journalists broader independent access and movement to cover military affairs.

The War Department defended the rule as necessary to “protect classified and sensitive information” and safeguard national security. However, numerous U.S. news organizations—including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, CBS, NBC, ABC, NPR, Axios, Politico, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Hill, Newsmax, Breaking Defense, and Task & Purpose—refused to sign the policy agreement.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report. </em>

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