Air Force veteran from Niceville charged with transmitting national defense information

NICEVILLE — A federal grand jury has indicted an Air Force veteran on nine counts of unauthorized possession and transmission of classified national defense information, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Paul J. Freeman, 68, of Niceville, is accused of making multiple transmissions between November 2020 and March 2021, detailing information about Air Force aircraft and weapons systems to people not authorized to access such information.

A detention hearing has been set for July 1 at the federal courthouse in Pensacola before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zachary Bolitho.

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If convicted, Freeman faces up to 10 years of imprisonment for each count, the news release says. The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.