Retired Army Officer In FL Sentenced For Disclosing Classified Info: U.S. DOJ

Correction: The name of the person convicted in this case was initially incorrect. The story has been updated to correct that error.

TAMPA. FL — A retired U.S. Army colonel in Tampa was sentenced to two years in federal prison for the disclosure of classified infomration relating to the national defense of the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Kevin Charles Luke, 62, pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 7. In his plea agreement, he admitted to abusing a position of public trust.

Luke served in both active duty and reserve components of the Army from 1981 until his retirement in June 2018. Following his retirement, Luke was employed as a civilian employee at United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the DOJ said.

During his time in the Army and as a civilian employee, Luke held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. On multiple occasions, including as recently as February 2019, Luke acknowledged his responsibility to protect classified information by signing a Standard Form 312 Nondisclosure Agreement.

In October 2024, Luke sent a woman a text message from his personal cell phone that said, “Sent to my boss earlier, gives you a peek at what I do for a living,” according to the DOJ.

Following that message, he sent a photograph of a computer screen displaying a classified email message that he had authored and sent using a government email address intended for classified email communications.

The photograph of the classified email also revealed targets of a planned U.S. military operation as well as the future date of the operation, the means of executing the operation, and the goal of the operation, the DOJ said.

The email contained classified markings at the Secret level that Luke himself had added.

“The unauthorized release of the information contained within the photograph could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security of the United States,” the DOJ said.

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