The same evening a , U. S. Army , official filmed himself deleting Army teaching materials while he was being discharged from the military, he called the Russian ambassador in , Washington, D. C., according to federal prosecution.
In the movie Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal III recorded in , February 2022, he was “graphically describing his ill-will towards the Army”, prosecutors said.
Madrigal, 38, pleaded guilty on , July 24 , to one count of , destruction of , U. S. Army , materials , and three counts of making a false statement, according to a news release from the , U. S.  , Attorney ‘s , Office for the Western District of Virginia.
The charges stem from when Madrigal’s discharge from the Army was pending and he was assigned as an attorney to the , U. S. Army , Judge Advocate General ‘s , Legal Center and School , ( JAG School ) in , Charlottesville, prosecutors said.
” The situation began as a regional security spy ‘ suspicion,'” Madrigal’s defense lawyer,  , John N. Maher, told , McClatchy News , in an contacted statement on , July 25.
” What the statistics absolutely prove is that First , Lieutenant Madrigal , distinguished himself as an 82nd Airborne Paratrooper and a mature non-commissioned official with the , 75th Ranger Regiment, having conducted difficult and life threatening operations our nation asked him to perform”, Maher said.
By early , February 2022, the Army was in the process of discharging Madrigal because he never reported a previous conviction for driving under the influence, according to lawyers. At the time, his task was to make teaching materials for the , JAG Corps , and Army, lawyers said.
According to an oath written by an FBI agent, Madrigal deleted and sent a picture of himself doing it in a text message to a person without her consent.
In the saving, Madrigal expressed hatred toward the Army, making some expletive claims, the affidavit says.
” You believed you could quickly reduce me,” you said? Madrigal said in part of the picture, according to the affidavit.
Call to Russian ambassador
In another text message and voice to the person who received the film, Madrigal mentioned , Russia, saying,” Ya,  , Russia , has reached up to me” and that he made plans to travel to the land, the affidavit says.
Days before his discharge from the Army on , Feb. 22, 2022, Madrigal messaged the woman again, saying:” The Russians in DC reached out to me, they would like to know what I know”, according to the affidavit.
However, Madrigal’s phone records showed no Russian representative called him, the affidavit says.
Instead, the records showed he called the Russian embassy in D. C. the day he deleted , JAG School , training modules, according to the criminal complaint, which says his call lasted about 2 minutes and 26 seconds.
Lying to the FBI
As an Army officer, Madrigal had an active security clearance and” served overseas on sensitive operations” before working at the , JAG School, prosecutors said.
He lied on his exit paperwork during his Army discharge, claiming he “had no unreported contact with a foreign national”, according to prosecutors.
According to the prosecution, Madrigal lied to the FBI a few months later, claiming he never spoke with a foreigner at the Russian embassy and that he never deleted Army training materials.
According to Maher, Madrigal’s “offenses” occurred while he was struggling with chronic PTSD, which he developed from” close quarter combat” during his military service, and was “drinking to excess”.
Madrigal was initially arrested on a , cyberstalking charge , in , August 2022, according to the , U. S.  , Attorney’s Office.
According to a previous release, FBI agents discovered Madrigal had been threatening the woman who had received the video of him deleting Army training materials. She was Madrigal’s former romantic partner, according to prosecutors.
Madrigal messaged her between late 2021 and throughout the middle of 2022,” threatening her career, family, and pets”, and sent sexually explicit photos of her that she did n’t know he had, prosecutors said.
According to the prosecution, the woman claimed he also threatened her with a gun and damaged her belongings.
Madrigal threatened a second woman, another former romantic partner, with a pistol and pointed it at her head in , August 2022, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, he allegedly pressured this woman to give the FBI false information about him.
Since Madrigal agreed to plead guilty to charges related to deleting , JAG School , materials and lying to the FBI, the cyberstalking charge and other counts against him will be dismissed after his sentencing, his plea agreement shows.
Madrigal is considered a disabled veteran and “has been dry for two years”, Maher told , McClatchy News.
He claimed that Madrigal is” a wounded warrior who is no danger to anyone and is now recovering” and “is a good neighbor and our country.”
The date of Madrigal’s sentencing was n’t listed in court records.
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