Frederick Man Accused of Flying Drone Over Sensitive Military Installations, Site R

A Frederick, Maryland man has been charged with violating national defense airspace for allegedly operating an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) over sensitive U.S. national defense facilities, according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The charges stem from videos posted to a YouTube channel that appeared to show drone footage of critical infrastructure and classified sites.

The investigation began after a military official reported a YouTube channel, identified as “Area 82 Surveillance911,” had posted drone footage of a sensitive U.S. national defense facility. A subsequent review by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) identified additional videos on the channel that appeared to have been captured by a UAS. These videos depicted several identified national defense facilities, including the Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC), commonly known as Site R.

Further investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and NCIS uncovered videos that seemed to show Department of Defense facilities and infrastructure vital to national security. The YouTube channel also featured titles suggesting some locations were “classified” or “Top Secret.” One particular folder, labeled “Classified Secret Sites,” contained approximately seven videos that seemed to have been recorded by a drone flying over U.S. Government facilities.

The FBI traced the ownership of the YouTube channel by investigating overlapping Internet Protocol addresses associated with email accounts, a recovery phone number, and email addresses registered with the United States Postal Service. This investigation led authorities to focus on Stuart Bennett, of Frederick, Maryland, as the owner of the channel.

A search warrant executed at Bennett’s residence resulted in the seizure of a Potensic Atom drone, four micro-SD cards, and a Hewlett-Packard Z240 Tower Workstation. Agents also collected Bennett’s computer monitor, which was reportedly logged into the “Area82 Surveillance911” YouTube channel. A forensic examination of one of the seized micro-SD cards revealed a video depicting a UAS flight over the Raven Rock Mountain Complex. The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged the efforts of the FBI, NCIS, and the Department of War’s Pentagon Force Protection Agency for their contributions to the case.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland

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