Pentagon employee arrested for trying to leak secrets over Trump grievances
An IT specialist at the US Defense Intelligence Agency has been arrested for allegedly attempting to provide classified information to a foreign government, citing his opposition to President Donald Trump's policies, according to the Department of Justice.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was charged on Thursday with trying to share classified information with someone he believed represented a foreign government. He was detained following an FBI sting operation.
Laatsch, who has worked as an IT specialist in the DIA's Insider Threat Division since 2019, allegedly expressed intent to share classified materials due to ideological differences with the Trump administration.
'The recent actions of the current administration are extremely disturbing to me,' he said in an email reportedly intercepted by the FBI. 'I do not agree or align with the values of this administration and intend to act to support the values that the United States at one time stood for.'
The DOJ said the FBI had initiated an investigation in March after receiving a tip about Laatsch's intentions. Undercover agents, posing as representatives of a foreign government, communicated with Laatsch, who began transcribing classified information onto a notepad at his desk over a three-day period. He then allegedly concealed the notes in his socks and lunchbox to remove them from the facility.
On May 1, Laatsch reportedly left a thumb drive containing documents marked 'Secret' and 'Top Secret' at a prearranged drop-off location in a public park in northern Virginia. He later expressed interest in obtaining citizenship from the foreign country, stating he did not expect 'things here to improve in the long term,' the prosecutors said.
Laatsch was arrested at a subsequent drop-off location on Thursday. He is scheduled to appear in court in Alexandria.
The identity of the foreign government involved has not been disclosed, but the DOJ described it as a US ally.
'This case underscores the persistent risk of insider threats,' FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X on Friday. 'The FBI remains steadfast in protecting our national security and thanks our law enforcement partners for their critical support.'
The arrest of Laatsch adds to a series of high-profile cases involving US intelligence personnel leaking classified information.
In August last year, Pentagon employee Gokhan Gun was arrested while trying to travel to Mexico with 'Top Secret' documents. Gun, 50, was charged with unauthorized retention of classified materials.
In 2023, Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 21, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking hundreds of classified Pentagon documents on Discord. The files included intelligence on the Ukraine conflict and other sensitive matters.
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