In a stunning turn of events that has electrified Washington and beyond, former National Security Advisor John Bolton surrendered to federal authorities on October 17, 2025, just one day after a Maryland grand jury unsealed an 18-count indictment charging him under the Espionage Act for the willful mishandling of classified information. The charges, which include eight counts of unauthorized transmission of national defense information and ten counts of unlawful retention, stem from allegations that Bolton shared over 1,000 pages of highly sensitive “diary-like” notes—many marked Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information—with two unauthorized relatives via personal email accounts and a private messaging app during and after his tenure in the Trump White House. These notes reportedly detailed covert operations, intelligence on foreign adversaries’ missile plans, and sensitive sources and methods, information prosecutors say Bolton knew was classified yet chose to disseminate outside secure channels. Escorted by private security from his Bethesda, Maryland, home, the stone-faced 76-year-old hawk entered the federal courthouse in Greenbelt without comment, marking a dramatic fall for the once-unyielding architect of aggressive U.S. foreign policy who had long positioned himself as a bulwark against executive overreach.

The indictment paints a picture of deliberate recklessness, accusing Bolton of handwriting notes in secure White House environments before digitizing and emailing them to non-cleared individuals, actions that allegedly exposed U.S. secrets to risks including a 2021 hack by Iranian-linked cyber actors who accessed his personal accounts. Legal experts note that while the Espionage Act—a World War I-era statute—has been wielded against figures like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Bolton’s case stands out for its “aggregating factors”: vast quantities of material, evidence of disloyalty through unauthorized sharing, and potential obstruction by failing to fully disclose the hack to investigators. Bolton’s attorneys, led by Abbe Lowell, have decried the charges as politically motivated retribution from a vengeful Trump administration, insisting the notes were declassified or cleared for his 2020 memoir The Room Where It Happened and that the probe—initially ramped up under Biden—was dormant until Trump’s public calls for prosecuting critics revived it. Trump himself dismissed Bolton as a “bad guy” and “washed-up warmonger” in remarks Thursday, fueling accusations that this is the third such Espionage Act indictment this month targeting his foes, including former FBI Director James Comey. As Bolton entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment, the courtroom buzzed with speculation over bail conditions, with prosecutors pushing for restrictions on his travel and communications given the gravity of the alleged breaches.

Whispers in conservative circles and online forums have escalated to outright predictions that Bolton’s fate could mirror the indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, the notorious U.S. military prison in Cuba long associated with post-9/11 “war on terror” suspects. Given the top-secret nature of the leaked intelligence—encompassing covert actions in Yemen and details on adversary threats—some MAGA influencers argue that GITMO’s isolation and lack of civilian oversight make it the “logical” venue to neutralize a perceived national security risk, especially under an administration eyeing expanded military tribunals for domestic threats. While federal prosecutors have not invoked GITMO or the Military Commissions Act in filings, the rhetoric from Trump allies like Gunther Eagleman and Catturd on X suggests Bolton’s hawkish past and anti-Trump book could justify extraordinary measures, potentially bypassing standard sentencing under the Espionage Act (which carries up to 10 years per count) for something more draconian. If convicted on even a fraction of the charges, Bolton faces decades in prison; but in this hyper-partisan climate, the prospect of a GITMO transfer looms as symbolic payback, turning the tables on a man who once championed such facilities as tools against America’s enemies—now, improbably, facing designation as one himself.