Gokhan Gun, an electrical engineer with dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, has been arrested and charged with mishandling classified documents while employed by the U.S. Department of Defense. FBI agents detained Gun on Friday after uncovering that he had printed over 250 documents, many of which were classified. Federal prosecutors have charged him with mishandling these sensitive materials in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.
The FBI reported that Gun, who held top-secret clearance at the Defense Department, did not have authorization to remove classified documents from his workplace. He began printing these documents in May and continued doing so until at least Wednesday of the week of his arrest. Gun’s actions raised significant security concerns given his access to classified information.
Engineer with Dual Citizenship Arrested for Mishandling Classified Documents at Defense Department
Gun, who became a U.S. citizen in 2021 but retains Turkish citizenship, was found attempting to leave the country for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Thursday morning. Federal investigators executed a search warrant at his residence in Falls Church, Virginia, and discovered him as he was preparing to depart. A search of his backpack revealed a document marked “top secret.”
The investigation revealed that Gun had printed at least 155 pages of classified documents and had taken thousands of printed pages of unclassified documents home since May. Gun claimed that his supervisor permitted him to print and take home unclassified documents and argued that any “Top Secret” documents were outdated and no longer classified.
Federal prosecutors have expressed concern about Gun’s potential flight risk, particularly due to his planned trip to Mexico and the severity of the charges. In response, Gun’s public defender has countered that there is no evidence suggesting an intention to flee, asserting instead that the trip was merely for recreational purposes, such as fishing.
