"(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) The Washington Post is demanding that the government return materials seized from one of its reporters last week in an FBI raid. The Post argued in a court filing that the government's actions against reporter Hannah Natanson ignore federal statutory safeguards for journalists. The FBI raided Natanson's Virginia home on January 14 and seized multiple devices, including phones, laptops, and a recorder."
"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, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in a statement. The DOJ claims that Natanson was messaging with Perez-Lugones earlier this month. The Post's court filing demanding the materials be returned followed a January 20 meeting where officials refused to return the devices."
"The outrageous seizure of our reporter's confidential newsgathering materials chills speech, cripples reporting, and inflicts irreparable harm every day the government keeps its hands on these materials, the paper said in a statement about their latest move. We have asked the court to order the immediate return of all seized materials and prevent their use. Anything less would license future newsroom raids and normalize censorship by search warrant."
Hannah Natanson's Virginia home was searched by the FBI on January 14, resulting in seizure of phones, laptops, and a recorder. The raid is linked to an inquiry into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a Maryland system administrator accused of taking classified reports home. FBI Director Kash Patel said an individual at the Washington Post allegedly obtained classified military information from a government contractor, endangering warfighters and national security. The DOJ alleges Natanson messaged with Perez-Lugones earlier this month. The Washington Post filed in Virginia court demanding immediate return of the seized materials and a bar on government access until resolution, arguing the seizure chills speech and exceeds relevance to the case.
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