Alleged Federal Info Leaker Was Columbia Resident: Reports

COLUMBIA, MD — The woman accused of leaking classified information to the media about possible Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election reportedly has ties to Columbia.

Reality Winner, 25, was arrested by the FBI at her Georgia home on Saturday, June 3, for allegedly leaking confidential documents from her work to an unnamed "online news agency."

According to the criminal complaint, Winner had been working for federal contractor Pluribus International Corporation in Augusta, Georgia, since February and held a top-secret clearance. In early May, she allegedly printed and improperly removed classified national defense information, then mailed the intelligence reporting to an online news outlet.

The Intercept published a story this week based on an anonymously provided classified National Security Agency report that indicated Russian government hackers may have targeted a voting software company and U.S. election officials in 2016.

Shortly after the report broke, the Justice Department announced it had arrested Winner for leaking classified information.

Winner called her mother, who lives in Texas, to inform her of the arrest and reportedly was most concerned about arranging for someone to look after her cat in Georgia.

"...she cares about her world and taking care of people and animals," her mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told TIME magazine, adding that she would never have categorized her daughter as a political activist.

Her stepfather described her as a "patriot."

Before moving to Georgia, Winner lived in Columbia and worked at Fort Meade, according to CNN, which reported she was a member of the Air Force for six years.

As the FBI searched her residence, officials said Winner agreed to talk with agents and admitted to printing the classified intelligence reporting, taking the information from her office and mailing it to the news outlet.

Her attorney, Titus Nichols, told the ABC affiliate in Augusta, Georgia, that Winner did not have a lawyer at the time she was interrogated and has not told him that she made a confession. He alleged the case was a diversion from the larger issue of possible Russian involvement in the election, shifting the focus to a person he called a "low-level government employee."

Winner is expected to appear on Thursday in federal court for a bail hearing.

• Georgia Worker Leaked Classified Info To News Outlet: Authorities
• Russian Spies Directly Targeted Voting System In 2016 Election: Reports'

—With reporting from Patch editors Cody Fenwick and Deb Belt.

File photo.