The Department of Justice announced the arrest Friday of a former U.S. government contractor supporting the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command on charges of leaking national defense information, unlawfully retaining still more national security information in his residence, and stealing night vision goggles from U.S. Special Operations Command.
James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, a former U.S. government contractor, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday as part of an investigation that led to a search warrant served on Ashbacher's home on April 30, 2025. While working as a contractor, he held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.
According to the indictment, the information Ashbacher purloined was nine videos revealing "various tactics techniques and procedures used by a specialized military unit and presents risk of foreign adversaries creating a method to defeat or counter the capabilities demonstrated." Six of those videos were specific to a particular USSOCOM unit and revealed the unit's organizational structure and individual call signs. One video revealed "information about SECRET specialized Alternative Compensatory Control Measures Programs of the military."
What the heck is an ACCM, you ask? And rightfully so.
According to Department of Defense Manual (DODM) 5200.01, Alternative Compensatory Control Measures (ACCMs) are security measures used when the policy is insufficient to enforce need-to-know for classified information and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Program (SAP) protections are not necessary.
A Head of a DOD Component with original classification authority (OCA) may employ ACCM when they determine that the standard security measures detailed in DODM 5200.01 are insufficient.
ACCM consists of three measures: creating a specific description of the information subject to the enhanced ACCM control, maintaining a list of personnel to whom the classified information has been or may be provided, and guidelines for the use of unclassified nicknames.
This is fairly serious, as it makes classified programs and operations transparent to anyone with the information. They may not know the program details, but the definition lets an adversary know a classified program or operation is underway in that subject or geographic area.
Apparently, Ashbacher's filching of classified videos began in 2021 and continued until he was seemingly terminated from his job in March 2024.
At some point, shortly before he was fired, panic set in. Ashbacher had been posting videos on two social media sites. This isn't smart, but unfortunately it's not unprecedented; see Secret Pentagon Documents Emerge on a Minecraft Players Forum, WTF? – RedState.
If you recall, Airman Jack Teixeira posted classified material on Discord, which then migrated to Twitter/X, Telegram, 4chan, and elsewhere; see Jack Teixeira, Convicted Pentagon Leaker, Slammed With Lengthy Sentence in Espionage Case – RedState. The free online game "War Thunder" has been a cesspool of gamers revealing classified information to win arguments over weapons capabilities. The known leaks are:
- Challenger 2 (UK tank) — Army Equipment Support Publication/armor details posted in 2021 by a user claiming to be a British Army tank commander.
- Leclerc (French tank) — Classified design details (e.g., turret rotation) in 2021.
- ZTZ-99 (Chinese tank) — Ammunition and performance data.
- F-16 and F-15E — Export-restricted technical documents and manuals (2023).
- F-117 Nighthawk — Flight manual pages (2023).
- Eurofighter Typhoon — Radar system data (Captor-M / Captor-E), including a 2024 case involving restricted Italian/UK material.
- AH-64D Longbow (Apache) — Technical manual.
- AV-8B Harrier — Section of a U.S. Navy/Marine Corps NATOPS flight manual marked Distribution Statement C (2025).
- Eurocopter Tiger and others.
In February 2024, he contacted people online asking them to take down the materials he'd posted. This is from the indictment:
14. On or about February 2, 2024, in private messages on Social Media Site 1's platform, ASHBACHER asked another user to "remov[e] any mention" of certain information from a post and to "take 'em down, tuck them away, and repost them in a year or two when my contract ends lol." ASHBACHER further stated: "Just trying to save my ass .... It is what it is .... " and that he knew "a bunch of dudes probs saved everything but trying to do some damage control lol If not, it's all good bro, I understand. It was fun while it lasted .... "
15. On or about February 3, 2024, ASHBACHER deactivated his Social Media Site 1 account.
While not specifically mentioned, it is more likely than not that Ashbacher supported 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG). The videos probably showed them practicing close-quarters battle and hostage-rescue techniques.
When the FBI raided his house, they found a set of night vision goggles valued at $40,000 that Ashbacher copped to stealing and a single sad and pathetic document.
During the court-authorized search of ASHBACHER's home on April 30, 2025, the FBI seized a copy of what appeared to be a military award containing SECRET//NOFORN markings with ASHBACHER's name (the "Classified Award Document"). In reality, ASHBACHER was never given the Classified Award Document by the Department of War. However, the classified portions of the award are contained in similar awards awarded to members of the military.
Ashbacher had stolen a classified award citation — SECRET//NOFORN means the information is secret and no foreign nationals are allowed to see it — and altered it to insert his name. You get those typically for being in places American troops were not supposed to be and doing things that no one wants to talk about.
This guy doesn't seem to be politically motivated at all. Rather, he seems to be the Walter Mitty type who never had the courage to put on a pair of combat boots but fancied himself a Rambo-esque character in his own movie. The dummied-up award citation, probably to win an internet argument, and the videos stink of a guy building an online persona as a Tier One commando when he was the farthest thing from it.
Nevertheless, the damage to the organization was real, and if this nonsense is ever to end, examples must be made. This is as good a place as any to start.
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