Midwest
Air Force civilian allegedly sent classified information to woman on foreign dating site: 'Secret agent'
A civilian employee at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska was indicted after he allegedly sent classified National Defense Information (NDI) electronically to a person he met on a foreign online dating platform in 2022.
According to the indictment, 63-year-old David Franklin Slater, of Nebraska, worked in a classified space with the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base, from August 2021 until April 2022.
While working there, Slater held a Top Secret clearance, the U.S. Department of Justice said, and he took the position after retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army.
Slater allegedly “willingly, improperly, and unlawfully” sent NDI that was classified as “SECRET,” with reason to believe the information could be used against the U.S. or to aid a foreign country, to a person on a foreign online dating platform who was not authorized to receive the information.
WHO IS JACK TEIXEIRA, THE AIR NATIONAL GUARDSMEN BEHIND LEAKED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS?
Department of Justice inscription is seen on athe headquarter’s building in Washington, D.C., United States on October 20, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“As alleged, Mr. Slater, an Air Force civilian employee and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, knowingly transmitted classified national defense information to another person in blatant disregard for the security of his country and his oath to safeguard its secrets,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said. “The Department of Justice will seek to hold accountable those who knowingly and willfully put their country at risk by disclosing classified information.”
The indictment says Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings on Russia’s war against Ukraine and was privy to information classified as TOP SECRET//SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS//SCI).
After meeting a person through a foreign online dating website, who claimed to be a female living in Ukraine, Slater allegedly transmitted NDI that he acquired during the briefings to them between February 2022 and April 2022.
JACK TEIXEIRA PLEADS GUILTY TO LEAKING PENTAGON CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
David Franklin Slater is accused of transmitting classified information to a person he met on a foreign dating site from February 2022 until April 2022. (Adobe Stock )
The indictment claims the co-conspirator asked Slater to send her the information that was sensitive, closely held and classified, calling him her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent.”
At her request, Slater would then send the person the information, which included military targets and Russian military capabilities.
The indictment includes statements made by the person Slater met online. For example, on about March 7, 2022, the co-conspirator said, “American Intelligence says that already 100% of Russian troops are located on the territory of Ukraine. Do you think this information can be trusted?”
Then on March 15, the co-conspirator said, “By the way, you were the first to tell me that NATO members are traveling by train and only now (already evening) this was announced on our news. You are my secret informant love! How were your meetings? Successfully?”
US DEFENSE SECRETARY LLOYD AUSTIN SAYS LEAKED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS WERE ‘SOMEWHERE IN THE WEB’
Three days later, the person said, “Beloved Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?”
The statements from the co-conspirator continued, as they asked to be told “right away” of information about a country not specified in the indictment statements, and questions about the supply of weapons.
“My sweet Dave, thanks for the valuable information, it’s great that two officials from the USA are going to Kyiv,” the co-conspirator said on April 14. Then on April 19, the co-conspirator said, “Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very unpleasant ‘surprise’ for Putin! Will you tell me?”
The indictment alleges that Slater, in his responses to the requests, provided NDI to the co-conspirator, and on March 28, 2022, he transmitted NDI regarding military targets in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On April 13, he allegedly transmitted NDI regarding Russia’s military capabilities regarding the war in Ukraine.
Slater is expected to be in court on March 5 in the District of Nebraska, and if convicted of the crimes, he could face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
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“Certain responsibilities are incumbent to individuals with access to Top Secret information. The allegations against Mr. Slater challenge whether he betrayed those responsibilities,” U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr for the District of Nebraska said. “We look forward to continuing our work with the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to ensure the safety of our country.”
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Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Man Gets 8.5 Years For Trying To Join ISIS In Somalia
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A 23-year-old Minneapolis man was sentenced Wednesday to 102 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
Prosecutors said Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan tried to travel from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Somalia in December 2024 to join and fight for the foreign terrorist organization.
ISIS has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. secretary of state since 2014.
According to court documents cited by federal prosecutors, Hassan consumed and reposted ISIS propaganda, obtained bombmaking and weapons-related manuals, and communicated on social media with ISIS media wings and recruiters operating in Somalia.
The U.S. attorney’s office said Hassan bought a one-way ticket, left Minneapolis for Chicago on Dec. 29, 2024, and was prevented from continuing to Somalia after an interview by Customs and Border Protection’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team.
Prosecutors said he later continued researching ISIS attacks and posting pro-ISIS content online before the FBI arrested him on Feb. 27, 2025.
Hassan pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 2025, before Judge Donovan W. Frank, who imposed the sentence on April 22.
In the announcement, FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said, “Abdisatar Hassan took active steps in an attempt to join and support ISIS—a brutal foreign terrorist organization responsible for the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people.”
He added that the sentence “takes a would-be terrorist off the streets and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will unremittingly pursue anyone seeking to join or support a foreign terrorist organization.”
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Customs and Border Protection and the New York Police Department.
Indianapolis, IN
Cost of living tops Indiana voters’ minds as primary nears
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A working mother told News 8 she’s not sure if any candidates have the answers to cost-of-living problems.
Lamia Nelson works as a nurse assistant and has her own home health care business. She also works multiple side gigs. Even with all that, she said she struggles to make ends meet for herself and her three children. Nelson pulled her two younger children out of their charter school and is having them take classes at home so that she can reduce transportation costs and avoid scheduling conflicts with her work.
Nelson said the rent for the home she and her children share has risen from about $900 a month eight years ago to $1,850 per month. She says it’s extremely difficult for working parents like her to properly invest time in their children while at the same time keeping the bills paid.
“Where’s the help here? If parents have to work all day because they need to be able to afford to keep a roof over their head, where are the programs at? Where is the assistance? Where’s the helping hand for single-parent families?” she said. “My kid needs help tutoring in school. I’m at work, I have to pull a double, who’s going to help with that? They’re putting so much money into the highways and streets, why don’t you do some programs for our children?”
Polling data shows she’s not alone. In a survey of about 1,500 voters conducted in February of this year for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, 37% of respondents said cost of living and affordability issues were the top issue they wanted Congress to address.
The second-highest category, protecting democracy, got top marks from 21%. An Ipsos poll conducted in October logged similar numbers, with 40% of respondents saying cost-of-living issues were their top concern.
According to Ball State University political science Prof. Chad Kinsella, cost-of-living issues dominate every election cycle because they affect every voter every day. Kinsella says voters tend to punish the party in power whenever their costs of living become too great.
President Donald Trump ran on affordability issues in 2024, and Democrats are doing the same thing in 2026. The Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of inflation, showed a 3.3% rise in costs for all items in March. Much of that was driven by a 12.5% increase in energy costs driven by oil prices. Those prices spiked as a result of the war with Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.
“Inflation and, you know, utility, gas prices, grocery prices, and everything, it affects people no matter where they are on the political spectrum,” Kinsella said. “And they’re aware of that. And people care. And so, I think talking about those matters, even if you’re in a primary election, it’s gonna matter.”
Lamia Nelson says gas prices are a problem for her, but rent and utilities are her biggest concerns. Moreover, she says whoever is running for office needs to come up with a plan to bring up worker pay.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly wage in Indiana during the fall of 2025, the most recent quarter for which data is available, was $1,214, compared to $1,459 for the country as a whole.
That works out to about $63,000 per year in Indiana. Indiana’s minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 per hour since 2009. The minimum wage would have to rise to $11.10 per hour to offset inflation since then.
“They need to focus on the rent prices, and I feel like the rent and utilities go hand in hand, and they need to focus on the pay. People cannot survive with these types of pay rates employers are giving. It’s ridiculous,” Nelson.
Nelson says cost-of-living issues are far and away her top issue when she goes into the voting booth, but says she doesn’t have high hopes about the candidates currently on the ballot.
“Of course, you’re going to want to go with who’s going to help us, but who is going to help us, in reality?” she said.
Early voting runs through May 4. Primary Day itself is on May 5. Click here to find out how to vote and check your voter registration.
Cleveland, OH
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