James Thomas Ashbacher, a former U.S. government contractor from Spring Lake, North Carolina, was arrested Tuesday and charged with unlawfully transmitting and retaining national defense information and theft of government property, according to federal authorities. Prosecutors allege that James Thomas Ashbacher posted classified material to a social media platform and kept additional restricted documents at his home.
Government contractor arrested in alleged defense leak
According to the indictment, beginning in or about 2021, Ashbacher worked for a private firm providing security and emergency management services at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command facility at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. To carry out his duties, he held a Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information access.
Prosecutors say Ashbacher photographed and removed, without authorization, videos and images depicting classified military operations, then transmitted the materials to a social media site. The materials were later reposted by other users on a second platform, similar to issues raised when an appeals court reviews Virginia social media law for minors.
In a private message cited in court filings, he asked a user to delete some of the posts and said he was “trying to do some damage control.” A search of his residence uncovered a classified award write-up containing additional national defense information, investigators said, along with a night vision goggle system tied to a specific unit within Army Special Operations Command that had previously been reported missing.
The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is leading the investigation with substantial assistance from the U.S. Department of the Army Criminal Investigative Division. Information about the agency’s broader mission is available through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Army.
Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Logan Liles for the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.