The first transgender Army officer is facing espionage charges after allegedly attempting to turn over medical information of American service members to an FBI agent who represented themselves as an agent of Russia.
An indictment against Maj. Jamie Lee Henry and his wife, Dr. Anna Gabrelian, was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on Wednesday.
The couple participated in an FBI sting while under the impression they were communicating with a representative of Russia’s Embassy in the United States, according to a Justice Department news release.
Henry served as a staff internist stationed at Fort Bragg, the home of the 82nd Airborne Division and Army Special Operations Command as recently as August, according to Justice Department prosecutors.
Gabrelian is identified as an anesthesiologist at a Baltimore medical facility, subsequently identified as Johns Hopkins Hospital by The Baltimore Banner.
Henry and Gabrelian were allegedly motivated to provide information to the faux Russian Embassy representative out of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the court documents.
The trans officer allegedly even sought to serve in the Russian military, only to be rebuffed for a lack of combat experience.
A biography for Gabrelian on the website for Johns Hopkins Medicine described her as a Russian speaker.
No photo of Gabrielian is available on her Johns Hopkins Medicine profile, instead a photo is available on what appears to be her LinkedIn profile. pic.twitter.com/nvD6dYDYLe
— Amy Simpson (@AmySimpsonTV) September 29, 2022
In an August meeting at a Baltimore hotel room, Gabrelian spoke of the tactical use of information Henry knew of to Russian interests, according to the indictment.
The physician allegedly pointed to her husband as a valuable source, who could reveal information on how the U.S military operated field hospitals and the American training provided to Ukrainian combatants.
Major Jamie Lee Henry, the Army’s first trans officer, and Dr. Anna Gabrielian were indicted for trying to give secret records to the Russian government. pic.twitter.com/9RB4wUB2SH
— @losangelessos1 (@S42917714) September 29, 2022
The couple allegedly provided health information on military spouses, a retired Army officer and Department of Defense civilian employees to the undercover FBI agent.
Henry sought “plausible deniability” in his discussions with the faux Russian agent, speaking to his own fear of security clearance investigations.
A 2015 BuzzFeed News profile identified Henry as the first publicly transgender officer in the Army.
Henry recounted experiencing “intense gender dysphoria” in a 2015 interview, describing his experience pioneering the acceptance of his lifestyle choice in the Army.
Gabrelian and Henry face one count of conspiracy, and seven counts of the wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.
The wrongful disclosure counts are punishable with a maximum sentence of 10 years, each, with conspiracy meriting a maximum sentence of five years, according to the Justice Department.
