A civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense has been charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. Ewa Maria Ciszak, 64, from Huntsville, Alabama, is accused of knowingly removing and retaining classified materials.
Court documents unsealed in the Northern District of Alabama reveal that Ciszak has worked at the Missile Defense Agency since January 2023. Her role granted her a security clearance with access to national defense-related classified materials. It is alleged that between February 2025 and June 18, 2025, she removed these documents without authorization and stored them at her home and in her vehicle.
On June 18, federal agents executed a search warrant on Ciszak’s residence, person, and vehicle. They recovered multiple documents marked up to the SECRET level. Some were found in her personal backpack after being transported from MDA facilities to her home.
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 court.
