First openly trans US Army officer arrested as ‘Russian spy’
Two Americans, including the US Army’s first openly transgender officer, were arrested after offering military personnel medical information to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian embassy employee, according to a federal indictment made public on Thursday.
Major Jamie Lee Henry and Dr. Anna Gabrielian of Rockville, Maryland were charged with conspiracy and wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information, the Baltimore Banner reported, citing a federal indictment dated Wednesday.
Gabrielian, 36, is listed as teaching anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins medical school in Baltimore. Henry is a doctor at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, with secret security clearance. According to the indictment, they “communicated and met several times” with an undercover FBI agent, who they believed was an employee of the Russian embassy, offering to provide sensitive medical information on members of the US military and their families.
Henry made headlines in June 2015 as the first known US Army officer to come out as transgender. Though the Baltimore Banner and other outlets referred to Henry as ‘she’, the indictment itself called Henry ‘he’ and Gabrielian’s ‘husband’.
Army's first trans officer and Johns Hopkins doctor wife are indicted on SPY charges: Tried to pass medical records to Russians of senior officers at Fort Bragg - the home of Delta Force and special operations https://t.co/LPO6ThJpQo
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) September 29, 2022
The FBI claims to have intercepted a message from Gabrielian offering her assistance to the Russian embassy. During her first meeting with the undercover agent in a Baltimore hotel on August 17, Gabrielian said she was “motivated by patriotism toward Russia” and was willing to risk being fired or going to jail.
An indictment filed Wednesday charges two Maryland doctors with conspiracy and unlawful disclosure of medical information.U.S. Army Dr. Jamie Lee Henry and Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist Dr. Anna Gabrielian are accused of attempting to provide info to the Russian government. pic.twitter.com/TNkpo2GoLF
— Paul Gessler (@PaulGessler) September 29, 2022
She also mentioned that Henry had access not just to medical files, but could offer information about US training of the Ukrainian military. Henry, 39, was then brought in for the second meeting.
“My point of view is until the US actually declares war against Russia, I’m able to help as much as I want,” Henry allegedly told the agent. “At that point, I’ll have some ethical issues I’ll have to work through.”
During the August 31 meeting at a hotel in Gaithersburg, Gabrielian offered medical information about a spouse of someone who worked at the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), highlighting an issue that “Russia could exploit,” the indictment says. Henry provided medical information related to five patients at Fort Bragg.
The indictment against the couple was filed on Wednesday. After their initial court appearance, Henry and Gabrielian were released to home detention.
