A civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense has been charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. Ewa Maria Ciszak, a 64-year-old resident of Huntsville, Alabama, is facing charges after being arrested and making her initial court appearance.
Court documents unsealed in the Northern District of Alabama reveal that Ciszak has worked at the Missile Defense Agency since January 2023. She held a security clearance granting access to materials related to national defense. From February to June 18, 2025, she allegedly removed classified documents from agency facilities without authorization and transported them to her home and vehicle.
On June 18, federal agents executed a search warrant on Ciszak’s home, person, and vehicle. During the search, they recovered multiple documents marked up to the SECRET level. Some documents were found in her personal backpack, having been transported directly from the agency to her residence.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations with assistance from the FBI Atlanta Field Office’s Savannah Resident Agency and the Missile Defense Agency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius for the Northern District of Alabama along with Trial Attorneys Chantelle Dial and Adam Barry from the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are handling prosecution duties.
It is important to note that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
