The journalist was not the subject of the investigation that lead to the search.<\/b>
\nThe FBI raided a reporter\u2019s home Wednesday as a part of an investigation into a government contractor who allegedly kept classified materials.
The journalist, Hannah Natanson, was in her Virginia home when the FBI executed the search warrant seizing her phone, personal and laptops and a smart watch. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X Wednesday that Natanson was \u201cobtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars.\u201d
\u201cThe Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation\u2019s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country,\u201d Bondi said.
The Privacy Protection Act that generally prevents law enforcement from searching journalist\u2019s work unless they are suspected of a crime themselves. Natanson is not the focus of the probe that led to the search.
Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator with a top-secret security clearance, is suspected by the DOJ of taking classified material. The Post\u2019s report on the incident pointed out that searches of journalists\u2019 homes are abnormal. The Post also claimed the criminal complaint against Perez-Lugones does not accuse him of leaking classified material.
\u201cIt is highly unusual and aggressive for law enforcement to conduct a search on a reporter\u2019s home,\u201d the article stated.
In April 2025, Bondi rescinded Biden-era press protections that prevented federal investigators from searching journalist\u2019s phone records to identify government workers who shared sensitive materials to news organizations.
Natanson covers the federal workforce and recently published a report detailing the fallout from the Trump administration\u2019s upheaval of the workforce. She wrote that over 1000 federal workers reached out to her to express frustration and uncertainty about their offices.
Multiple freedom of press organizations spoke out against the raid Wednesday. Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment institute, questioned the legality of the search in a statement, saying the government must publicly justify why they took such extreme measures.
\u201cSearches of newsrooms and journalists are hallmarks of illiberal regimes, and we must ensure that these practices are not normalized here,\u201d Jaffer said.<\/p>\n