Posted on 10/30/2026 11:59:45 AM PDT by CFW
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WBTV) - A former North Carolina military contractor was arrested this week for leaking classified defense secrets and stealing Army night vision goggles, federal prosecutors said.
FBI agents arrested 37-year-old James Ashbacher, a former U.S. government contractor, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in North Carolina.
Ashbacher, who held a top-security clearance, was accused of leaking national defense information on a “popular social media site,” unlawfully keeping national defense information at his home and stealing night vision goggles from the U.S. Army.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ashbacher began working around 2021 for an unidentified private company that provided security and emergency management services to a U.S. Army special operations facility at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
While on the job, he allegedly photographed and filmed classified military operations and posted the files to an unidentified social media platform. Other users later reposted the sensitive material to another site
(Excerpt) Read more at wbtv.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
This stuff is rampant. Examples need to be made.
Many need the gallows treatment.
YES!
Everybody who has authorized access to highly sensitive national security information knows perfectly damn well that:
1) Access is a privilege, not a right
2) Access is based on "need to know"
3) The information is NEVER to be divulged to unauthorized personnel
and
4) Unauthorized disclosure is subject to severe civil and criminal punishment.
They "eFFed Around" ... they need to "Find Out".
We should start with Joe Biden and Hunter! And then Mike Pence!
The Espionage Activities of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen
Robert Hanssen:
His espionage was described by the United States Department of Justice as “possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history”.[2]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.