A retired US Army officer in Florida was sentenced to federal prison.
Kevin Charles Luke, 62, of Tampa, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for disclosing classified information about the national defense of the United States.
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Luke pleaded guilty on October 7, 2025. In his plea agreement, he admitted to abusing his position of public trust.
According to court records, Luke served in both the regular and reserve components of the United States Army from 1981 until his retirement as colonel on June 30, 2018. Following his retirement, Luke worked as a civilian for United States Central Command (CENTCOM). Luke held a top secret/sensitive compartmented information security clearance both while in the Army and as a civilian employee.
Luke accepted his responsibility to secure classified material on several occasions, most recently in February 2019, by signing a Standard Form 312 Nondisclosure Agreement.
In October 2024, Luke sent a woman a text message from his personal cell phone that read, “Sent to my boss earlier; gives you a peek at what I do for a living.” Following that message, he provided a photo of a computer screen with a classified email message that he had written and sent from a government email address designated for classified email conversations.
The snapshot of the confidential communication also exposed the objectives of a planned US military action, as well as the operation’s future date, execution method, and goal. The email included secret marks at the Secret level that Luke had applied.
The unlawful dissemination of the information contained in the photograph might have catastrophic consequences for the United States’ national security.
The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Lindsey Schmidt and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
U.S. District Judge James Moody, Jr. sentenced the defendant, and U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the decision.
