Terry J. Albury

Terry Albury
photograph
Terry Albury, circa 2001
Born
Terry J. Albury

Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
EducationBerea College (BA)
Known forClassified document disclosure of racial discrimination by the FBI to The Intercept
Criminal chargeViolating the Espionage Act
Criminal penalty4 years in prison

Terry J. Albury is an American former FBI agent convicted of leaking documents to news site The Intercept detailing secret guidelines for the FBI’s use of informants and the surveillance of journalists and religious and ethnic minority and immigrant communities. The documents formed the basis for a series of articles in The Intercept called "The FBI's Secret Rules".[1]

Early life and education

Albury was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California.[2] he was the son of Ethiopian immigrants. At the age of 13, he was sent to attend Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Berea College.[3]

Career

Albury was a 17-year veteran of the FBI.[4] He stated that he was motivated to inform the public about the systematic racist and xenophobic practices he witnessed as the only black agent in the Minneapolis field office, and the son of an Ethiopian refugee as he was tasked with surveillance of Muslim and immigrant communities.[4]

After leaking documents to The Intercept which formed the basis for a series called "The FBI's Secret Rules", Albury was indicted under the Espionage Act of 1917. In 2018, he pled guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.[5]

Albury's was the second leak case charged under the Espionage Act under President Donald Trump.[6] Civil liberties and press freedom advocates spoke out against Albury's prosecution under the Espionage Act, and called for an end to its use against those who "act in good faith to bring government misconduct to the attention of the public".[7]

Albury was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood. After being released from prison in November 2020, he relocated to Berkeley, California.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The FBI's Secret Rules — An Investigative Series by The Intercept". The Intercept. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. ^ Pollock, Joycelyn M. (2021-07-30). Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-357-51295-1.
  3. ^ Speri, Alice (October 18, 2018). "As FBI Whistleblower Terry Albury Faces Sentencing, His Lawyers Say He Was Motivated by Racism and Abuses at the Bureau". The Intercept. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  4. ^ a b Alice Speri "As FBI Whistleblower Terry Albury Faces Sentencing, His Lawyers Say He Was Motivated by Racism and Abuses at the Bureau" The Intercept, 18 October 2018
  5. ^ Charlie Savage and Mitch Smith. "Ex-Minneapolis F.B.I. Agent Is Sentenced to 4 Years in Leak Case" The New York Times, 18 October 2018
  6. ^ "Mpls. FBI agent charged with leaking classified info". MPR News. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  7. ^ "End Espionage Act Prosecutions of Whistleblowers". Defending Rights & Dissent. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  8. ^ Reitman, Janet (2021-09-01). "'I Helped Destroy People'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-01.