FBI agents executed a search warrant at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Wednesday, seizing her phone, two laptops, and a Garmin watch. The search is part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified material.
Natanson had recently written a first-person article about receiving over a thousand tips from federal employees affected by the Trump administration. The warrant stated she was not a target of the probe, but Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel accused her of reporting on illegally leaked information.
Press freedom organisations and journalists condemned the action. The Knight First Amendment Institute called searches of journalists' homes "hallmarks of illiberal regimes." Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray described the search as an "extraordinary, aggressive action" raising constitutional concerns.
Colleagues expressed alarm, with reporter Drew Harwell stating the administration is going after a journalist for doing journalism. Some called on Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to speak out. Former executive editor Marty Baron said the search "will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press."
