A former Army officer and attorney assigned to Charlottesville’s JAG School was sentenced today to 54 months in prison on multiple federal charges. The charges stemmed for the destruction of U.S. Army property and false statements made to investigators.
Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal, 38, formerly of Charlottesville, pled guilty in July 2024 to one count of destruction of U.S. Army materials and three counts of making a false statement.
According to court documents, in February 2022, Madrigal was assigned to a staff position at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School to design and develop training products for the JAG Corps and the Army.
Madrigal possessed an active security clearance and previously served overseas on sensitive operations.
Madrigal was under investigation by the U.S. Army and the JAG School for failing to report a previous arrest for driving under the influence.
While the investigation was pending, Madrigal deleted, without authorization, online JAG training materials and filmed himself doing so while graphically describing his ill will toward the Army.
In the video, Madrigal said “I’m gonna fu** you,” and “I’m going to bring their house down on them.”
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. On Feb. 22, 2022, Madrigal was discharged from the JAG School and claimed in his exit paperwork that he had no unreported contact with a foreign national.
Madrigal was interviewed by the FBI, and in these interviews, Madrigal made multiple false statements regarding his actions, including denying any involvement in the deletion of materials as well as denying his contact with a foreign national at the Embassy.
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Crystal Graham
