FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday announced that a federal grand jury in Maryland had indicted Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, a 61-year-old Pentagon contractor with top-secret security clearance, for allegedly leaking classified documents to a Washington Post reporter. The indictment is tied to the FBI's highly unusual and aggressive raid on Natanson's home last month, during which agents seized her laptops, smartwatch, and other personal items.
According to prosecutors, Perez-Lugones had accessed sensitive information from his workplace and transmitted it to the reporter, who then published at least five articles using the leaked documents. Investigators found evidence that Perez-Lugones had printed screenshots of top-secret documents and hidden them in Microsoft Word files before transmitting them to the journalist via an encrypted messaging app.
The indictment charges that Perez-Lugones willfully transmitted national defense information, placing the country's security at risk. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of retention and transmission of classified information.
Press freedom advocates have condemned the FBI's actions as a "tremendous escalation" into media independence, with some calling it an attempt to silence journalists. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has argued that physical searches of reporters' devices and homes are invasive investigative steps that should only be taken in extreme cases.
The Washington Post has asked a federal judge to return seized materials, including Natanson's equipment, arguing that the seizure chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm. An alliance of press freedom groups has also written to Congress demanding an investigation into whether the government is undermining the First Amendment and a free press by targeting journalists like Natanson.
Perez-Lugones was arrested on January 8th and has remained in jail since. His attorneys have not commented on the indictment, but prosecutors say that he faces severe penalties if convicted.
According to prosecutors, Perez-Lugones had accessed sensitive information from his workplace and transmitted it to the reporter, who then published at least five articles using the leaked documents. Investigators found evidence that Perez-Lugones had printed screenshots of top-secret documents and hidden them in Microsoft Word files before transmitting them to the journalist via an encrypted messaging app.
The indictment charges that Perez-Lugones willfully transmitted national defense information, placing the country's security at risk. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of retention and transmission of classified information.
Press freedom advocates have condemned the FBI's actions as a "tremendous escalation" into media independence, with some calling it an attempt to silence journalists. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has argued that physical searches of reporters' devices and homes are invasive investigative steps that should only be taken in extreme cases.
The Washington Post has asked a federal judge to return seized materials, including Natanson's equipment, arguing that the seizure chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm. An alliance of press freedom groups has also written to Congress demanding an investigation into whether the government is undermining the First Amendment and a free press by targeting journalists like Natanson.
Perez-Lugones was arrested on January 8th and has remained in jail since. His attorneys have not commented on the indictment, but prosecutors say that he faces severe penalties if convicted.
this is soooo worrying!!! I mean I get it that national security is super important but this seems like a huge overstep by the FBI! 
Like what's next? Searching people's phones for anything they've ever typed or searched online? 
That's just not right. And to make matters worse, Natanson was just trying to do her job as a journalist... 
she's not some kind of national security threat! It's so sad that the press freedom community is speaking out about this because it needs to be said... 
this whole situation is super sus to me... FBI's raid on Natanson's home and seizure of her stuff feels like overkill 
what's really going on here? are we talking about national security or just some rich dude trying to get attention? 
all these press freedom advocates are saying the FBI is being too aggressive, but at the same time I'm not sure if Perez-Lugones wasn't doing something wrong either... maybe he was? 
I don't know, but one thing's for sure: this whole thing feels like a big ol' mess 
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I'm not saying the reporter shouldn't have gotten to see the docs, but this feels like overkill. Like, what's next? Raids on every journalist's home because of a leak? That's just chill-inducing for all us reporters who want to do our jobs... 
. I mean, what's the big deal? You leak some classified documents and suddenly it's a crime? It sounds like overkill to me 
. And now they're taking away Natanson's stuff... that's just creepy 
. What if she was just trying to get the story out? You'd think we live in a country where journalists can do their job without being hassled by the FBI 
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The fact that Natanson's equipment was seized and she's being targeted by the government is chilling enough, but now it seems like we're witnessing a coordinated attack on free press and independent reporting.
this whole situation feels like a big show to silence journalists, imo 
Like, what's next? Are we gonna start arresting journalists left and right just because they're asking questions? The FBI needs to chill out and focus on real crimes instead of trying to silence people who are just doing their job. And can someone please explain to me why a grand jury is necessary here? It feels like a bunch of hocus pocus to me... 
. And now they're asking Congress to investigate? That's like putting more fuel on the fire 
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