- Lt. Col. Brandon Carroll Tyner arrested under Britain’s National Security Act on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence; no charges announced
LONDON 15 NOVEMBER 2026 (Agencies) – An Army official has identified Lt. Col. Brandon Carroll Tyner as the US soldier arrested earlier this week in the United Kingdom on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence, in what FBI Director Kash Patel described as “allegations of espionage”.
Tyner, 41, began serving in the Army as a human resources officer, military occupational specialty 42H, in January 2008, the official told Military Times. His deployments included tours in Afghanistan, Qatar and Iraq. At the time of his arrest, he was assigned to Imjin Barracks, a British Army base near Gloucestershire, England, which hosts NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. His arrest came shortly after the United States removed aircraft from British military bases over a reported threat from Iran that officials said was unrelated.
Tyner was arrested under Sections 1 and 3 of Britain’s 2023 National Security Act, and the Army said officials were investigating two locations in Gloucestershire. Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation, and the officer remains in custody at a London police station. No charges have been announced, and he has not commented publicly on the allegations. “This important arrest involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies,” Patel said in a statement, adding that the FBI had made 167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests over the last 21 months.
Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command, thanked FBI authorities in the UK. “The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent,” he said in a statement, encouraging anyone who has witnessed something suspicious to report it to their local counterintelligence office.
The arrest comes amid US European Command’s “See Something, Do Something” campaign, which calls on troops, family members and civilian employees to be vigilant about their digital presence and to report unusual behaviour to authorities. The campaign did not identify a specific threat, but experts have warned that Russia is stepping up hybrid warfare. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, known as ACLED, said in an October report that Russia had increased hybrid threats across Europe, including targeting aviation in Germany, attempting to sabotage critical infrastructure in Poland and stepping up drone incursions in Romania and Moldova, in an attempt to weaken the region’s support for Ukraine. The report expects those threats to grow, noting that Moscow would likely use cyberattacks and step up attacks on defence and transportation infrastructure.