Former U.S. Government Contractor Arrested for Leaking National Defense Information and Theft

James Thomas Ashbacher, a 37-year-old former U.S. government contractor from Spring Lake, North Carolina, was arrested by the FBI for allegedly leaking national defense information on social media, unlawfully retaining other classified information, and stealing night vision goggles from the U.S. Army's Special Operations Command. He faces charges of unlawfully transmitting and retaining national defense information and theft of government property.