Ex-intelligence official held without bail in espionage case

SALT LAKE CITY – A judge has ordered a former U.S. intelligence officer charged with attempted espionage to be held without bail pending trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Lund told the court in a memorandum Monday that 58-year-old Ron Rockwell Hansen could be a flight risk because of his history using undercover identities and false documents as an intelligence officer. Judge Brian Tsuchida issued the order Monday.

Lund said that Hansen had previously talked about using false personas and fleeing to China “if things went wrong.”

Hansen is a Utah resident who was arrested in Washington state Saturday and charged with 15 counts of espionage, smuggling and financial charges. Prosecutors claim he was paid up to $800,000 by Chinese intelligence and plotted to hand over U.S. military plans.

A lawyer listed on court documents did not respond to a voicemail Wednesday.