Army Guardsman Charged in Plot to Send Military Radio to Russia

An Army National Guardsman is under arrest for allegedly attempting to send military equipment to Russia in violation of export control laws. 

28-year-old Canyon Anthony Amarys of Alamogordo, New Mexico was arrested for attempted violation of the Export Control Reform Act, which restricts the export of certain defense goods without a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

According to court documents, in February 2025, Amarys met in person with someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent, and signed an agreement to confirm his covert relationship with a Russian intelligence service. Amarys agreed to photograph a military installation at Fort Riley, Kansas, and to procure a helicopter radio for use by the Russian military.

After buying the radio in March 2025, Amarys went to Kansas to get the radio and export it to a recipient in Romania. 

“In doing so, Amarys communicated with a person he believed to be a Russian intelligence agent, and confirmed his understanding that the radio would in fact be illegally diverted to Russia,” stated the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In addition, Amarys allegedly photographed an installation at Fort Riley that contained sensitive military technology, sending the photos to undercover agents on the same day he took the pictures. 

Federal law enforcement seized the radio before it was sent overseas under a court authorized search. 

The FBI’s Kansas City field office is investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, the Kansas National Guard, the Department of Commerce - Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. 

If convicted, Amarys faces up to 20 years in prison.