On this day, Aug. 21, 1987, for the first time, a U.S. Marine was convicted of spying against his own country. Authorities said Sgt. Clayton Lonetree was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow when he was seduced by a female KGB agent. The woman blackmailed Lonetree into turning over documents and revealing the names of CIA personnel. He also sketched the layout of the Moscow and Vienna embassy offices.
Lonetree initially was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but served nine years after authorities determined that his actions caused minimal damage and his motivation was not treason or greed, but rather the “lovesick” response of a naive and lonely Marine.
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— Scott McCabe
