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3w ago

Fort Bliss Soldier Arrested Over Attempted Leak of Abrams Tank Data to Russia

He allegedly exploited his top-secret clearance at Fort Bliss to transfer sensitive Abrams schematics and hardware to what he believed were Russian agents, prompting an interagency investigation of insider threats.

Members of the U.S Army sit atop an M1A2 Abrams tank near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
Justin Simmons, United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, announced the arrest Wednesday of Taylor Lee Adams, 22, of El Paso. The Fort Bliss active-duty Army soldier has been accused of trying to transmit data to the Russian government. 
An entrance to Fort Bliss is seen in Texas on June 25, 2018.
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Overview

  • Lee was arrested on August 6 in El Paso and charged under the Espionage Act and Arms Export Control Act for attempting to transmit classified tank information and hardware.
  • Prosecutors allege that in June 2025 he posted export-controlled schematics of the M1A2 Abrams online and offered his services to Russia in exchange for citizenship.
  • In July 2025, Lee handed over an SD card of classified Abrams documents to an individual he believed represented the Russian government and delivered a hardware component to a local storage unit.
  • As a 22-year-old active-duty soldier at Fort Bliss, Lee held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance at the Army’s key armored training installation.
  • He remains detained without bond as DOJ attorneys in the Western District of Texas pursue prosecution with support from the FBI’s Washington and El Paso field offices and Army Counterintelligence Command.