The US State Department confirmed that Ashley Tellis, a noted expert on India and South Asia, was arrested on October 11. He faces charges of unlawfully keeping classified national defense documents. The arrest was announced by US Attorney Lindsey Halligan from the Eastern District of Virginia.
Investigators said Tellis removed secret papers from Defense Department offices and kept them at his home in Vienna, Virginia. Surveillance showed him printing “Secret” and “Top Secret” files between September 12 and 25, 2025. The FBI reported that he hid the papers inside notepads and placed them in a leather briefcase.
Court records also described Tellis’s meetings with Chinese officials in recent years. They reportedly discussed issues like artificial intelligence, Iran-China ties, and US-Pakistan relations. In one meeting, he carried a manila envelope and did not return with it.
Tellis serves as a senior adviser to the State Department and a contractor for the Defense Department’s Office of Net Assessment. If convicted, he could face ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
