Rowe, formerly a test engineer with various defense contractors, held national security clearances and worked on U.S. Air Force electronic warfare projects. After security breaches and indications of interest in Russian affairs, he was terminated. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania revealed in a detainment motion that John Murray Rowe Jr. had moved to South Dakota to live “off the grid” after being fired from his job as a defense contractor.
In March 2020, Rowe met an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian representative at a hotel in South Dakota, where Rowe said he’d be interested in moving to Russia and giving information to its government, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Over eight months, he exchanged over 300 emails with the agent, discussing classified information and expressing willingness to collaborate.
Previously filed court documents said Rowe had traveled to Philadelphia in November 2020 to possibly secure passage to Russia. But information contained in the Feb. 9 motion argues that on that same trip, Rowe “went silent, essentially faking his own death,” after telling the FBI agent that he’d contracted COVID-19 and entered hospital care.
Rowe was arrested by federal authorities on Dec. 15, 2021, in the Black Hills. He was later charged with sharing classified information about radar jammers with an FBI agent via email on May 8, 2020. While in detention, he made unauthorized disclosures of classified information to his brother, son, and realtor.
Sentencing is set for August 22, with Rowe facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee are prosecuting.
Assistance was provided by various agencies, including the Lead (SD) Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and Rapid City Resident Agency.
