A former Army officer at the JAG School in Charlottesville pled guilty today to federal charges associated with filming himself deleting sensitive online training materials.
Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal III, 38, a former resident of Charlottesville, pled to one count of destruction of U.S. Army materials and three counts of making a false statement.
Madrigal possessed an active security clearance and previously served overseas on sensitive operations.
According to court documents, in February 2022, Madrigal was assigned to a staff position to design and develop training products for the JAG Corps and the Army
Madrigal was under investigation by the U.S. Army and the JAG School for failing to report a previous conviction for driving under the influence. While his Army investigation was pending, Madrigal deleted, without authorization, online JAG training materials and filmed himself doing so while describing his ill-will toward the Army.
The FBI’s investigation also revealed that Madrigal made a phone call to the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., the same night that he deleted the training materials and then texted a witness that Russia wanted to know what he knew.
Madrigal was discharged from the JAG School on Feb. 22, 2022, and claimed in his exit paperwork that he had no unreported contact with a foreign national.
In April and May 2022, Madrigal was interviewed by the FBI about his actions.
In these interviews, Madrigal allegedly made multiple false statements regarding his actions including denying any involvement in the deletion of materials as well as falsely denying his contact with a foreign national at the Embassy.
No date for sentencing was provided.
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Crystal Graham
