The man 'attempted to provide classified national defense information to the Russian government,' according to the DOJ.
John Murray Rowe Jr., 63, of Lead, South Dakota, was arrested on allegations that he"attempted to provide classified national defense information to the Russian government," according to a DOJ press release. He was officially charged with attempting to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government and will make his first court appearance on Friday.
A South Dakota man was arrested on charges of espionage after allegedly attempting to pass secret information along to Russia. This undated stock photo shows a person wearing gloves while handling a document labeled"confidential."investigation began after Rowe's defense employment was terminated following a series of security breaches, the DOJ said.
Rowe then met with an undercover FBI agent in March 2020 who was posing as a Russian government official. He allegedly exchanged over 300 emails with the FBI agent in which he expressed his openness to work with the Russians, at one point telling the agent that"if I can't get a job here then I'll go work for the other team."
He also discussed information related to U.S. national security and allegedly disclosed"secret" level national defense information related to American fighter jets, the DOJ added. Rowe is the latest in a line of American federal employees who have been arrested on charges of espionage, especially during the Cold War, with many of them going on to receive convictions.