Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 14, 2026
- Location
- Alexandria, Virginia
- Equipment searched or seized
- Status of equipment
- In custody
- Search warrant obtained
- Yes
Equipment Search or Seizure
- Legal orders
-
-
warrant
for
communications or work product
- Jan. 14, 2026: Carried out
-
warrant
for
communications or work product
- Legal order target
- Journalist
- Legal order venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
Hannah Natanson, reporter for The Washington Post, pictured above, was the target of a federal search warrant on Jan. 14, 2025. As part of an investigation into a government contractor, FBI agents searched her Virginia home and seized several devices.
Hannah Natanson, a reporter for The Washington Post, was the target of a federal search warrant on her home in Alexandria, Virginia, the early hours of Jan. 14, 2026, in connection with an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials, the Post reported.
Natanson, who covers Trump’s reshaping of the government, was at her home when FBI agents executed the search and seized her phone, Garmin watch and two laptops — one personal and the other issued by the Post. Natanson could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to the Post, investigators told Natanson that the focus of the probe is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator in Maryland with top-secret security clearance. He was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with unlawful retention of national defense information after agents found classified materials in his vehicle. Perez-Lugones has not been charged with disseminating the materials.
In April 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reversed the Biden-era policies that protected journalists from having their records seized or from being forced to testify in connection with leak investigations. She asserted, however, that such measures would only be used as a last resort.
The Post reported that the search warrant and device seizures marked Natanson’s first interaction with investigators.
In a statement posted to social media, Bondi alleged that Natanson was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”
“The leaker is currently behind bars,” Bondi continued. “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.”
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
