NewsGuild denounces FBI raid on reporter’s home

Union journalists are raising concerns that the government’s actions threaten the freedom of the press enshrined in the first amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 15, 2026) — On Wednesday, the FBI raided the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, a member of the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild and Washington Post Guild. Her union, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, is sounding the alarm on this raid — where federal gents seized Natanson’s personal devices from her Virginia home — raising serious concerns about the first amendment implications of a raid targeting a reporter’s work.

The New York Times reports that Natanson had spent the past year covering the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal workforce, cultivating sources among federal workers disturbed and outraged by attacks on their livelihoods and the administration’s attempts to redirect public servants to enforcing a bitterly partisan agenda. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the raid was focused on materials related to a federal employee with top-secret clearance who investigators believe had taken home confidential government information.

Under past administrations, DOJ investigations into leaks have sometimes involved government attempts to get information from reporters. However, this raid is an aggressive move within that historical context, as it does not appear the DOJ attempted to approach either the Washington Post or Natanson before the FBI executed a search warrant at the reporter’s private residence.

“The Washington Post Guild is alarmed and appalled by federal law enforcement’s search and seizure of reporter Hannah Natanson’s property and personal devices,” the Post Guild said in a statement. “Hannah is a valued member of our union whose work covering the federal workforce has been essential in understanding the impact of the Trump administration’s policies. The extraordinary decision to execute a search warrant at a journalist’s home should shock and dismay everyone who cares about a free and independent press. The Post Guild stands with Hannah, and will continue to fight for our members’ safety and independence so that they can continue their critical work.”

The Trump administration’s attacks on press freedom and independence throughout his second term are well documented. Last year, NewsGuild members in Chicago and Los Angeles sued the Department of Homeland Security after a pattern of agents targeting reporters covering protests with so-called “less lethal” ammunition, including rubber bullets. One Los Angeles reporter was shot in the head. Others have been arrested simply for documenting protests. Against this backdrop, the FBI’s seizure of Post reporter Natanson’s property, including personal devices, is particularly disturbing to union journalists.

“Journalists have the right to do their jobs without fear of government interference,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss in a statement released Wednesday. “Today’s FBI raid on a journalist’s home is a direct assault on the first amendment and a threat to every working journalist. Our union strongly condemns the actions by the FBI who seized property and information by one of our members covering the federal workforce. The NewsGuild-CWA stands with all journalists holding power to account and will continue to fight for a free and independent press.”