Ex-Guardsman indicted on espionage
From Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former officer in the Washington state National Guard and his ex-wife have been indicted in Spokane on espionage charges for allegedly mishandling national defense information that may have been passed to a prominent white supremacist figure, U.S. officials said.
Rafael Davila, 51, was arrested in Oregon and Deborah Davila-Cummings, 46, was arrested in Washington in the case which officials say involves the unauthorized possession of unspecified secret and top secret documents.
Justice Department officials said the defendants face a detention hearing before a federal magistrate Thursday in Spokane, where prosecutors are expected to reveal further information supporting the charges.
One of four counts in the indictment ties Davila-Cummings to Kirk Lyons, widely known for his role in the white supremacist movement. Deborah Davila-Cummings is accused of "trying to deliver national defense information" in 1999, and of making false statements to FBI agents when she denied she had ever met Lyons.
Lyons, who now lives in North Carolina, is identified as a member of the National Alliance in the racist group's literature, according to Dan Levitas, an author and expert on domestic terrorists and white supremacist groups.
"Lyons has been involved with white supremacists since 1988. He was married on the Aryan Nations compound, with Richard Butler presiding," Levitas said. Butler was founder of Aryan Nations.
Authorities Wednesday refused to comment on what sensitive government information Davila-Cummings tried to give to Lyons, who is not charged in the case.
Rafael Davila is charged only with unauthorized possession of documents relating to the national defense, illegally retaining the material, and failing to deliver the documents to the government official who was supposed to receive them.
His ex-wife, in addition to the same charge, is accused of "knowingly and willfully attempting to cause said documents to be delivered to another person not entitled to receive them, and of making a false, fraudulent and fictitious material statement in claiming "she did not recognize Kirk Lyons' name and was certain she never met Kirk Lyons."
