Earlier this month, a Georgia man was arrested and charged with one count of false personation of an officer or employee of the United States. Robert Earhart Jr. allegedly attempted to pass himself off as a CIA Agent to the Columbus, Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office last month, when he claimed to be with the CIA’s “protective operations division” and requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney Peter Leary.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of Georgia described Earhart as having a history of impersonating law enforcement: the announcement of the unsealed complaint against him describes him impersonating a CIA Agent, a Homeland Security Agent, and, in a case from 2019, a DEA agent. Apparently, in that case, Earhart allegedly presented himself as a DEA agent as part of a scheme to free three inmates from a county jail.
Now, a grand jury has upped the charges against him to five counts of false personation and Earhart is heading to trial.
In the complaint, filed on Feb. 8 and unsealed the next day following Earhart’s arrest, FBI Agent Joshua Mixon recounted both the voicemail left by Earhart at the USAO and a subsequent call where Earhart continued to impersonate a federal investigator to an undercover agent. Mixon is a former officer with the Auburn Police Department in Alabama and is listed on the warrant for Earhart’s arrest as the arresting officer.
In his Jan. 11 voicemail to the USAO in Columbus, Mixon said that Earhart cited a fake badge number and requested to do some “shadowing” of Leary’s work.
Then, in conversation with the undercover agent on Feb. 3, Mixon recounted, Earhart claimed that he was investigating a number of cases and worked with the Inspector General. He said that he was a victim of identity theft, and that an ex-girlfriend of his had taken his paperwork and his badges, so he has to get new ones. On the call, he supplied a phone number and email for his alleged boss.
Earhart allegedly claimed to have both CIA clearance and top security clearance.
On the call, the undercover agent made plans for Earhart to come to the USAO office on Feb. 8. The filing was initially sealed to prevent premature dissemination online.
A grand jury indictment filed on Wednesday charged Earhart with five counts of False Personation of an Officer or Employee of the United States for falsely claiming to be a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security in a number of contexts.
The indictment alleges that Earhart used his impersonation to try to get warrants for certain individuals arrests from the USAO, to try to get an investigation opened into his allegedly stolen equipment, firearms, and badge and then to try and get a badge (and other equipment) issued to him and to get a government tag for his vehicle.
Finally, the indictment alleges, Earhart falsely presented himself as a special agent and signed a criminal complaint and affidavit seeking the arrest of multiple people.
Earhart’s past is complicated. He was arrested in 2015 and initially charged with the murder of his infant daughter. Ultimately, he was convicted of negligent homicide in her death.
When Earhart was put on trial for the 2019 county jail incident, his attorney argued that he suffered from significant mental health issues caused by his daughter’s death and his time in jail. Tim Chitwood at the Ledger-Enquirer has more on Earhart’s legal history.
The government has moved for Earhart to be detained as a flight risk during the trial.