US Army Lieutenant Colonel Arrested in Britain Over Alleged Russian Espionage

A decorated U.S. Army officer is behind bars in Britain, accused of trying to spy for Russia. Lt. Col. Brandon Tyner, 41, was arrested this week, and British officials are expected to charge him on Sunday or Monday, according to two American officials familiar with the case who spoke anonymously.

After that, the U.S. Army will seek to charge him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and bring him back to the United States, the officials said. Authorities have not said what exactly Tyner is alleged to have done. He was stationed at the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Gloucestershire, about 100 miles west of London — NATO's largest base in Britain, hosting troops from 20 allied nations.

The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, said in a statement announcing the arrest that the case involved allegations of espionage. Officials said the country the allegations relate to is Russia, but it remains unclear whether Tyner actually handed over any sensitive information to Moscow. Phone numbers for Tyner and his wife were disconnected.

The Kremlin brushed it off. Spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the arrest has nothing to do with Russia and that Moscow does not know what it is connected to.

Tyner has served as a senior human resources officer in the Army since January 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan for a year starting in December 2013, served in Iraq in 2019 and 2020, and was in Qatar before that. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

The arrest lands amid a run of security cases in Britain. Counterterrorism police arrested five men near R.A.F. Fairford in southern England in September; they were later released on bail. In October, two Latvian men were arrested on suspicion of a national security offense after breaching the perimeter of R.A.F. Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, about 70 miles north of London. British police said Tyner's arrest is not related to either case.