Former Defense Contractor Arrested for Leaking Classified Military Data and Stealing Night Vision Equipment
WASHINGTON — A former government contractor holding top-level security clearances has been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly sharing classified national defense information on social media and stealing advanced military equipment from an elite U.S. Army installation.
James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, was taken into custody by the FBI following the unsealing of an indictment charging him with unlawful transmission and retention of national defense information (NDI), alongside theft of government property.
Top Secret Clearance and Alleged Social Media Leaks
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According to court filings released by the Department of Justice, Ashbacher began working around 2021 for a private defense contractor providing security and emergency management services to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) facility at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina. In this role, he was granted a Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
Prosecutors state that Ashbacher used his access to capture unauthorized photographs and retrieve video footage showing classified military operations. He then transmitted these materials to a mainstream social media platform, after which other online users began cross-posting the sensitive imagery to other sites.
Investigators uncovered evidence that Ashbacher realized the severity of the exposure, reaching out to at least one user via private message to request the removal of the uploaded content, explicitly admitting he was “trying to do some damage control.”
Residence Search Uncovers Stolen Military Gear
A subsequent search of Ashbacher’s Spring Lake residence revealed further security breaches:
Classified Documents: Federal agents discovered a classified military award write-up containing sensitive national defense details kept without authorization.
Specialized Military Hardware: Law enforcement recovered a night-vision goggle (NVG) system specifically belonging to a specialized unit within Army Special Operations Command, which had previously been reported missing.
Ongoing Prosecution and Legal Implications
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office alongside the U.S. Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). Prosecution is led by the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
If convicted, Ashbacher faces substantial federal prison time under the Espionage Act framework governing the unlawful disclosure and retention of national defense records, in addition to federal charges related to the theft of military property. As noted in Justice Department proceedings, an indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The source: Justice.gov
Hayk Gabrielyan
President of the Armenian Private Detectives Association,
Governor of Europe of the World Association of Detectives
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