A 41-year-old US Army soldier was arrested near Gloucester, England, on Tuesday on suspicion of spying for Russia while assigned to NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, the alliance's British-led rapid-deployment headquarters.
London's Metropolitan Police said the arrest was made as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation, on suspicion of offenses under sections 1 and 3 of the National Security Act 2023: obtaining, copying, retaining or disclosing "protected information," and assisting a foreign intelligence service. "The country to which the allegations relate is Russia," the force said. The soldier, who has not been named, is in custody at a London police station, and officers are searching two addresses in Gloucestershire.
A senior NATO military official confirmed to NBC News that the American service member "was assigned to NATO's" ARRC, whose headquarters sits at Imjin Barracks on the outskirts of Gloucester. Three people familiar with the matter told the network the same.
"This significant arrest and investigation is a result of close collaboration between UK and US authorities," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Britain's senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing. "The allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing."
Police said the case is not connected to any other ongoing counter-terrorism investigation.
"Insider threats are real"
The Army's own counterintelligence chief described the suspect as a senior soldier with access to sensitive material. "The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent," said Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command, according to Fox News.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrest "important," saying it "involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies." He said the FBI "has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States," and thanked UK Counter Terrorism Policing, MI5, UK Defence Counter Intelligence and Army Counterintelligence Command.
Patel used the moment to tout his bureau's numbers: "167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests from this FBI over the last 21 months - a 53% increase," he said, as quoted by the Daily Star. He made a similar claim earlier this year, when the bureau said espionage arrests were up by about half. That boast sits awkwardly beside NPR's report last month that the FBI's spy-hunting squads have been hit with deep cuts.
Gloucestershire again
The arrest is the latest security scare in a county that has become a pressure point for US forces in Britain. Gloucestershire is home to RAF Fairford, where an alleged Iran-linked plot in September led to a string of arrests and, last month, two men charged under the same National Security Act with assisting Iranian intelligence.
As we reported Tuesday, the Pentagon then scrambled tankers out of a second British base, RAF Mildenhall, weeks after bombers left Fairford; a US official confirmed to NBC that several aircraft departed Mildenhall after security was raised.
Britain has also stepped up arrests of suspected Russian agents, including three alleged spies held during Trump's state visit last year.
As of Wednesday, no charge had been announced, and the soldier's rank and duties at the ARRC had not been made public.