3 days ago
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A retired United States Army colonel volition service 2 years successful national situation for sending classified warfare plans to a pistillate helium met online, national authorities announced connected Wednesday. Kevin Charles Luke, 62, received his condemnation successful Florida territory court, aft pleading blameworthy successful October to unlawfully sharing accusation related to nationalist defense.
Luke served successful some progressive work and reserve roles successful the Army for astir 4 decades earlier retiring, arsenic a colonel, successful 2018, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, which handled this case.
After retiring, helium went connected to enactment arsenic a civilian worker for the U.S. Central Command, oregon CENTCOM, different subdivision of the Department of Defense that oversees U.S. subject operations astir the world. CENTCOM is headquartered astatine MacDill Air Force Base successful Tampa.
The U.S. Attorney said Luke held a "top secret" information clearance portion successful the Army and arsenic a civilian employee, citing tribunal documents. The bureau added that Luke had signed an NDA arsenic precocious arsenic February 2019, suggesting helium understood the anticipation to support classified information.
But, successful October 2024, prosecutors accidental Luke sent a substance connection to a pistillate from his idiosyncratic compartment telephone that contained elaborate plans for an upcoming subject operation. The substance read: "sent to my brag earlier, gives you a peek astatine what I bash for a living."
He had met the pistillate online and begun to pass with her utilizing his idiosyncratic telephone and computer, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The substance contained a photograph of a machine screen, which displayed a classified email that Luke had written and sent from his authorities email address, authorities said. His email revealed circumstantial facets of the the aboriginal subject operation, including the fig of intended targets, the day it was scheduled to instrumentality place, the wide extremity of the cognition and the means of carrying it out.
"The unauthorized merchandise of the accusation contained wrong the photograph could beryllium expected to origin superior harm to the nationalist information of the United States," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
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