Dual Turkish citizen arrested for mishandling top secret US documents

Gokhan Gun, a dual citizen of Türkiye and the United States, was arrested Friday. An electrical engineer working for the U.S. Department of Defense, he was detained as he was about to leave the country for Mexico. Authorities allege that Gun mishandled over 150 highly classified documents labeled “Top Secret.”

Federal prosecutors revealed that Gun began printing these highly classified records in May, continuing up until this past Wednesday. As a civilian employee at the Defense Department, Gun had authorized access to the documents but was not permitted to remove them from his workplace.

On Friday, FBI agents arrived at Gun’s home in Falls Church, Virginia, with a search warrant just as he was about to leave for the airport. Agents discovered piles of papers bearing classification markings in his backpack.

Authorities claim that Gun printed at least 155 pages from a “Top Secret” network. This classification level is reserved for the most sensitive government secrets. Gun also took home thousands of pages of unclassified records, which he said he had been permitted to do by his supervisor.

In a voluntary interview with the FBI, Gun denied taking any classified material from his workplace and suggested that if there were any documents marked as classified, their classification might have expired. However, U.S. officials rejected this claim, pointing out that at least one document printed as recently as Wednesday still carried “Top Secret” markings.

Gun has been charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials. Federal prosecutors argue that due to the seriousness of the charges and his planned travel to Mexico, he poses a flight risk and should remain in custody. Gun’s public defender, Brittany Davidson, countered that there is no substantial evidence proving he intended to flee and said he had simply planned to go fishing in Mexico.