Former Fort Bragg Contractor Accused Of Leaking Classified Information

WASHINGTON, DC – A former U.S. government contractor from Spring Lake, N.C. has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of leaking classified national defense information and stealing military night vision equipment.

James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, was arrested Tuesday by the FBI and charged in an indictment with unlawfully transmitting and retaining national defense information and theft of government property, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ashbacher previously worked for a private company that provided security and emergency management services at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command facility at Fort Bragg.

Federal prosecutors said Ashbacher began working there around 2021 and held a Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information access.

According to the indictment, Ashbacher photographed and removed without authorization videos and photographs containing images of classified military operations.

Prosecutors allege he then posted the material to a social media site, where some of it was later reposted by users on another platform.

The indictment alleges Ashbacher later contacted one social media user and asked that some of the material be removed, saying he was “trying to do some damage control.”

Federal agents also searched Ashbacher’s residence.

According to prosecutors, investigators found a classified award write-up containing additional national defense information.

Authorities also said they discovered a night vision goggle system associated with a military unit within Army Special Operations Command. The equipment had previously been reported missing.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.