An anti-Trump federal employee with top-level access to U.S. intelligence has been arrested for allegedly trying to leak classified material to what he believed was a foreign government.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), communications indicate that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) official expressed his opposition to President Donald Trump as justification for leaking the information.
The DOJ announced on Thursday the arrest of Nathan Laatsch, a 28-year-old civilian IT specialist at the DIA.
Laatsch had been working inside the Insider Threat Division since 2019 and held a Top Secret security clearance.
Ironically, the office is tasked with detecting internal threats.
According to the DOJ, Laatsch attempted to pass national security material to a supposed foreign government agent.
However, the “foreign” agent was actually an undercover FBI operative.
The case first surfaced in March 2025 after federal authorities received an alarming tip: someone was offering up classified intelligence to a foreign ally.
The leaker, later identified as Laatsch, reportedly wrote in an email that he didn’t “agree or align with the values” of the Trump administration.
Laatsch wrote that he was willing to leak “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation.”
An undercover FBI agent then reached out to Laatsch, posing as a foreign government operative, asking for classified material.
However, rather than reporting concerns through internal channels or resigning from his position, Laatsch allegedly chose to betray his country.
He repeatedly engaged with the undercover agent and prepared classified materials for handoff.
Laatsch was caught in an FBI sting operation near a public park in northern Virginia.
In the park, he was seen depositing a thumb drive meant for the foreign government.
The drive contained Secret and Top Secret-marked documents.
It also included a message from Laatsch stating he was offering “a decent sample size” of the type of material he could provide.
The situation escalated when Laatsch allegedly contacted the agent again on May 7, after learning the drive had been retrieved.
He asked the “foreign agent” for “citizenship for your country.”
Laatsch cited his belief that things in America were not going to “improve in the long term” because of President Trump.
He added he was “not opposed to other compensation” but wasn’t “in a place where [he] needed material compensation.”
Over the next two weeks, the DOJ stated that Laatsch continued to transcribe classified data, fold the papers, and smuggle them out of the building, hidden in his clothing.
On May 27, he arrived at yet another predetermined drop site — only to be arrested by the FBI on the spot.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday in the Eastern District of Virginia.
This arrest raises serious questions about the political motivations of federal employees embedded in key national security positions.
Despite his access to America’s most sensitive secrets, Laatsch openly cited his political disagreement with President Trump as motivation to leak intelligence to foreign agents.
