The FBI arrested Gokhan Gun, a Turkish-American electrical contractor, on Friday on charges of illegally obtaining and retaining national security documents.
Gunn was reportedly in possession of dozens of classified documents and was preparing to travel to Mexico at the time he was detained.
Complaint unsealed in Virginia federal court Explained Gan is an electrical engineer born in Turkey who came to the United States on a work visa in 2001, became a permanent resident in 2012, and became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
Gunn earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from George Mason University, a master’s degree in engineering from George Washington University and a doctorate in computer science from Southern Methodist University, according to his resume from the industry group. He began working as a contractor for the Department of Defense in September last year.
Gunn’s position at the Pentagon comes with a security clearance. Reportedly He had been given permission to take some of his work materials home with him. said In May, he began printing large quantities of documents and taking them home, with little justification for his actions.
According to the FBI, he printed approximately 3,400 pages during his 11-month tenure, most of which he printed in the late afternoon as he was preparing to go home. Witnesses said he would roll up the documents, stuff them into a “translucent shopping bag,” and exit his office.
In the final week before his arrest, Gunn had been actively printing 406 pages of documents, 82 of which were marked as top secret. The Department of Defense said Gunn’s security level did not allow him to take classified documents home.
Guns Arrested He was at his Falls Church, Virginia, home preparing to leave with some friends for a fishing vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The home is one of four properties he owns, including another in Virginia and properties in Florida and Texas. The FBI arrested him just before a ride-hailing service was scheduled to pick him up for the first leg of his trip to Mexico.
FBI agents who searched Gunn’s home found a stack of papers in his dining room, including several marked top secret. Gunn told agents that while some of the documents he took may have been labeled “out of date,” at least one of them was printed on Wednesday and marked with what appeared to be a current classification.
Gunn is scheduled to appear in court on August 13 on charges of illegally obtaining and retaining national defense secrets. The FBI has argued that Gunn is a flight risk because he was arrested while trying to leave the country, but his defense has argued that the trip was an innocent, planned vacation with friends.
