Washington, D.C. — On June 23, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Ewa Maria Ciszak, 64, was arrested for removing and retaining classified documents. She made her first appearance in court yesterday.
Ciszak, from Huntsville, Alabama, was a Department of Defense employee at the Missile Defense Agency in the Northern District of Alabama since January 2023. She had security clearance that granted her access to classified materials surrounding United States national defense. According to unsealed documents today from the Northern District of Alabama, Ciszak allegedly began removing classified documents in February 2025 until June 18, 2025, and transported them to her personal residence and vehicle. Neither were authorized for classified material storage.
On June 18, federal agents used a search warrant to search Ciszak’s home, person and vehicle. Multiple documents classified up to the SECRET level were obtained, including documents found in her backpack that were transported that day.
The FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating the case. Prosecuting the case are Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius for the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Chantelle Dial and Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
