A 41-year-old member of the U.S. Army has been arrested in the United Kingdom on suspicion of offenses under the National Security Act 2023 relating to Russia, London’s Metropolitan Police has confirmed. He has not been named or charged.
The man was arrested near Gloucester on Tuesday. Police said they were searching two locations in Gloucestershire. He was arrested on suspicion of offenses under Sections 1 and 3 of the Act, which concern obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service. “The country to which the allegations relate is Russia,” the Met said.
A senior NATO military official confirmed to NBC News that the soldier “was assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC).” People familiar with the matter told the network he was based at the corps headquarters at Imjin Barracks on the outskirts of Gloucester.
The Met said in its Tuesday statement that the man remained in custody at a London police station. FBI Director Kash Patel, quoted in the same release, said the arrest involves “allegations of espionage.” Brigadier General Sean Stinchon of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command referred to the alleged conduct of a senior soldier “entrusted with sensitive information.”
The Met said the investigation is not linked to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations.
