AUGUSTA, Georgia – A federal judge ordered a young woman charged with leaking classified US documents to remain jailed until her trial after prosecutors argued Thursday she might possess more stolen government secrets.
Prosecutors also said 25-year-old Reality Winner might try to flee the US if released on bond. Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Solari told the judge Winner had written in a notebook: “I want to burn the White House Down…find somewhere in Kurdistan to live. Ha-ha!”
Wearing an orange jumpsuit and leg shackles, Winner pleaded not guilty in US district court to charges that she illegally retained and transmitted national defense information. The federal crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if she’s convicted.
The former Air Force linguist, who speaks Arabic and Farsi and had a top-secret security clearance, was working as a government contractor in Augusta when she copied and mailed a classified report containing top-secret material to an online news organization, prosecutors say. (AP)
