Fort Bragg Contractor Charged With Leaking Classified Special Operations Secrets

A former Fort Bragg contractor with top-secret clearance is accused of leaking classified military images online, including videos that prosecutors allege exposed sensitive unit tactics and call signs, and stealing night vision equipment.

James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, of Spring Lake, N.C., was arrested Oct. 27 on charges of unlawfully transmitting and retaining national defense information and stealing government property. The indictment’s allegations describe disclosures involving Army special operations material.

The allegations include taking night vision equipment belonging to an Army special operations unit, which was located in a search of his home.

The Justice Department’s announcement does not identify Ashbacher’s employer or explain how he allegedly removed classified material and military equipment without detection. It also does not describe whether the Army reviewed the contractor’s access or the facility’s safeguards after the discoveries at his home.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office is investigating with assistance from Army criminal investigators. Agents searched his home in April 2025, but he was not arrested until October 2026.

Public accounts do not explain that roughly 18-month interval or establish when military officials first learned of the alleged disclosures.

Ashbacher began working around 2021 for a private company providing security and emergency management services at a U.S. Army Special Operations Command facility at Fort Bragg.

His job required top-secret clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information (SCI), prosecutors said. His contractor role placed him inside a facility handling classified military information.

Prosecutors allege he photographed and removed videos and photographs depicting classified military operations between 2021 and March 2024, then transmitted the material to a social media site.

The indictment identifies 10 videos allegedly shared between September 2023 and February 2024. Six revealed a specialized military unit’s tactics, procedures and call signs, prosecutors said. Another concerned special security measures for classified military information, while three showed capabilities that foreign adversaries could study to develop countermeasures.

After other users reposted the material on a second platform, Ashbacher allegedly asked one user privately to “take ’em down, tuck them away, and repost them in a year or two when my contract ends lol.”

In those messages, he acknowledged that others had probably saved copies and said he was “trying to do some damage control.” Prosecutors cite the private messages as evidence that he knew sharing the information was unlawful.

That search also uncovered a classified military award write-up containing national defense information and a night vision system reported missing from an Army special operations unit, prosecutors said. The findings extend the allegations beyond online distribution to material and equipment allegedly retained at home.

What a Clearance Allows

A security clearance does not authorize unrestricted access or personal use.

Under federal classification rules, access generally requires eligibility, an approved nondisclosure agreement and a need to know the particular information. Classified material also cannot leave official premises without proper authorization. Those restrictions apply even when someone originally encountered the information legitimately while performing an assigned job inside a secure facility.

The rules also require training on safeguarding classified information and the potential criminal, civil and administrative penalties for unauthorized disclosure. Executive Order 13526 places responsibility on agencies to protect classified information during storage, reproduction and transmission.

Sharing national defense documents with unauthorized recipients can be a crime even when no foreign spy is involved. 18 U.S.C. § 793 prohibits willfully passing those documents to any person not entitled to receive them, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison per violation.

An Earlier Leak Disrupted Military Work

The military has already experienced an online leak whose consequences extended beyond the person who posted the documents.

Former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira received a 15-year prison sentence in November 2024 after pleading guilty to six counts involving national defense information. Teixeira maintained classified computer workstations and used his access to retrieve documents unrelated to his duties.

His disclosures included information about the Russia-Ukraine war and troop movements, the sentencing announcement said. His unit was sidelined from intelligence work during the ensuing scrutiny.

The affected intelligence group was cleared to resume its mission in June 2024 following a recertification process and changes intended to strengthen oversight, demonstrating how a security breach can interrupt military operations while controls are rebuilt. The mission’s restoration came more than a year after the suspension.

The Air Force also initiated disciplinary or administrative action against 15 personnel, including officers and non-commissioned officers, for failures connected to the security breakdown. Its official investigation summary said it found no evidence that Teixeira’s supervisory chain knew of his unauthorized disclosures.