A night vision goggle system went missing from a unit in Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg. FBI agents found it in a former contractor’s house.
Prosecutors say he also posted classified military operations videos and photos to social media.
The guy
- James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, of Spring Lake, North Carolina.
- Starting around 2021, he worked for a private company doing security and emergency management at the USASOC facility at Fort Bragg.
- He held a Top Secret clearance with SCI access. The job lasted through March 2024, according to the indictment.
- The FBI arrested him on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when the indictment was unsealed.
What prosecutors say he did
- Photographed and removed videos and photos of classified military operations without authorization.
- The material was classified secret, according to the indictment.
- He posted it to a social media site. Other users reposted it to a second site. Prosecutors did not name either one.
- Then he messaged a user asking them to take some of it down.
The DMs
These are quoted in the indictment:
- “take ’em down, tuck them away, and repost them in a year or two when my contract ends lol”
- “a bunch of dudes probs saved everything but trying to do some damage control lol”
- “It was fun while it lasted”
What was in the house
- A classified award write-up with more national defense information in it.
- A night vision goggle system specific to a unit within Army Special Operations Command. It had been reported missing.
The charges
- Unlawfully transmitting and retaining national defense information.
- Theft of government property.
- The FBI’s Charlotte office is investigating with Army CID.
- An indictment is an allegation. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a 2023 military leak case that spread online, an Air National Guard airman got 15 years in late 2024.
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Cover photo: A Paratrooper assigned to 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division qualifies at night with an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon during the Division Best Squad Competition at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, April 8, 2026. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Aiden O’Marra, 49th Public Affairs Detachment, via DVIDS (ID 9648643), https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9648643/paratroopers-qualify-night-2026. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.
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Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Former U.S. Government Contractor Arrested for Allegedly Leaking National Defense Information and Stealing Night Vision Goggles,” Oct. 30, 2026, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-government-contractor-arrested-allegedly-leaking-national-defense-information-and
- Faith Wardwell, “Ex-Fort Bragg contractor accused of using Top Secret access to leak defense information,” The News & Observer, Oct. 30, 2026, https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article317849341.html
- Nicholas Slayton, “Former Fort Bragg contractor charged with leaking military secrets,” Task & Purpose, Oct. 31, 2026, https://taskandpurpose.com/news/fort-bragg-contractor-arrested-leaks/
- Pedro Oliveira Jr., “Former Army contractor charged with leaking military information,” UPI, Oct. 31, 2026, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/31/military-leaked-information-charged/1461793497257/
