A Texas County, Missouri man was indicted on March 13 with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. The indictment against Seth Chambers, 35, a former United States Marine Corps intelligence analyst, was unsealed following his arrest and initial court appearance.
Chambers is accused of sending classified documents to unauthorized individuals while working as a civilian contractor in Iraq. According to court documents, he held a security clearance up to the TOP SECRET level and had access to sensitive government materials. The indictment alleges that on December 10, 2022, Chambers transmitted a white paper containing excerpts from classified U.S. government documents to an individual in Maryland. A second incident reportedly occurred on April 20, 2023, when he sent similar material to someone believed to be in the People’s Republic of China.
The charges are accusations at this stage and not evidence of guilt. “Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence,” the statement said. If convicted, Chambers could face up to ten years in federal prison without parole for each count. Sentencing would ultimately be determined by the court based on advisory guidelines and statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Kelleher and Trial Attorneys Nicolas Hunter and Sean O’Dowd from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The FBI Kansas City Field Office led the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri handles federal prosecutions and civil litigation across 66 counties in western Missouri according to its official website. Its jurisdiction stretches from Iowa’s border in the north down to Arkansas in the south and covers areas from Kansas’s border eastward according to its official website. Offices are located in Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Springfield according to its official website.
The office collaborates with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners according to its official website, supports community outreach programs addressing violent crime and drug trafficking according to its official website, and operates as part of the U.S. Department of Justice according to its official website.
