Stop the FBI Raid on Journalism. Defend Press Freedom Now.

On January 14, 2026, the FBI searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing her phone, laptops, and reporting materials. She has not been accused of any crime. She was not the target of the investigation. Yet armed federal agents entered her home because she is a journalist who reported on the federal government.

This is an emergency for press freedom in the United States.

The search was tied to a leak investigation involving the Pentagon, but instead of pursuing the alleged leaker, the government went after a reporter. That decision crosses a dangerous line. Raiding a journalist’s home is an extreme measure that threatens the ability of reporters everywhere to protect sources, investigate wrongdoing, and inform the public without fear of retaliation.

This raid did not happen in isolation. It follows the Trump administration’s rollback of longstanding Justice Department policies that limited when federal authorities could seize journalists’ records. Those safeguards existed for a reason: without them, the government can intimidate reporters into silence. That is not how democracies function. It is how authoritarian regimes control information.

Legal and press freedom organizations warn that searches like this have a chilling effect across the entire media landscape. When journalists fear their homes can be searched and their devices seized, sources stop coming forward. Stories exposing corruption and abuse never get published. The public is left in the dark.

The United States has long claimed to be a global leader on press freedom. Actions like this make that claim ring hollow. Federal law enforcement should never be used as a tool to punish or intimidate the press for doing its job.

This is a line we cannot allow the government to cross.

Sign this petition to demand accountability, restore protections for journalists, and defend the free press before even more damage is done.