The U.S. Army officer arrested in England this week on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence has been identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Carroll Tyner, according to an Army official who spoke to Military Times, Defense News reported Friday. He has not been charged.
Tyner, 41, was arrested near Gloucester on Tuesday under Sections 1 and 3 of Britain’s National Security Act 2023, which cover obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service, according to The Independent. British police said the country the allegations relate to is Russia, The Independent reported.
The U.S. Army officer arrested in the United Kingdom this week for his alleged involvement in a Russian espionage scheme has been identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Tyner. https://t.co/rqawWbR1Im pic.twitter.com/rQZApTrzlz
— WKRG (@WKRG) November 13, 2026
Who he is
According to Defense News, the Army official said Tyner began serving as a human resources officer in January 2008, and his deployments included tours in Afghanistan, Qatar and Iraq. At the time of his arrest, he was assigned to Imjin Barracks, a British Army base in Gloucestershire that hosts NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Defense News reported.
Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the investigation, and officers have searched two locations in Gloucestershire, according to Defense News and The Independent. The Independent reported that police secured a warrant of further detention allowing them to keep questioning him.
FBI: ‘No tolerance’
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case “involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies,” according to Reuters. Patel added that the FBI “has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners,” The Independent reported. Defense News reported that Patel said the FBI had made 167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests over the last 21 months.
Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, said, “The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent,” according to Reuters. Stinchon encouraged anyone who thinks they have witnessed something suspicious to report it to their local counterintelligence office, Defense News reported.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said the arrest was “a result of close collaboration between UK and US authorities” and that “the allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing,” according to The Independent.
British police said the arrest “is not linked to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations,” Reuters reported. Reuters noted the arrest came the day after the U.S. removed refueling aircraft from a British airbase over a separate apparent threat from Iran.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and Tyner is presumed innocent.
Sources
Sources cited
- https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/11/13/us-army-names-officer-held-on-allegations-of-espionage/
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/us-soldier-arrest-russian-spy-uk-police-gloucester-b3084086.html
- https://www.reuters.com/5f374b32b07b/world/uk/uk-police-say-member-us-army-arrested-under-national-security-act-2026-11-10/
Sources
- Original post: WKRG (@WKRG) on X, Nov 12, 2026
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