In February 2014, after leaving the Air Force and becoming a contractor at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Hale leaked 17 classified documents to The Intercept.[10][11] The documents contained details about U.S. kill lists and civilian casualtiesofdrone strikes,[12] and in some cases revealed actions that, if proven, would amount to war crimes.[13] Over one five-month period covered by the documents, nearly 90 percent of the people killed in U.S. drone strikes were not the intended targets. In an article published by Truthout, Marjorie Cohn wrote that "civilian bystanders were nonetheless classified as 'enemies killed in action' unless proven otherwise."[14][15] The documents formed the basis of a series of articles, the Drone Papers, published by TheIntercept in October 2015.[16]
Hale also leaked unclassified guidelines for the US terror watch list. People whose names appeared in the US No Fly List were able to use the guidelines to request their removal from the list.[15]
On August 8, 2014, the FBI raided his home in Lorton, Virginia, in what he described as retribution for his political activism. In 2016, he appeared in the documentary film National Bird, where he described his crisis of conscience and the FBI raid.[17]
In 2019, Hale was charged with disclosing intelligence information and theft of government property. He was arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In March 2021, he pleaded guilty to retaining and transmitting national defense information.[11] On July 27, 2021, citing the need to deter others from disclosing government secrets, U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady sentenced Hale to 45 months in prison for violating the Espionage Act of 1917. "You are not being prosecuted for speaking out about the drone program killing innocent people", O'Grady told Hale. "You could have been a whistleblower ... without taking any of these documents."[18] In court, Hale said he accepted punishment for taking the documents, and for taking innocent lives during his participation in the drone program. Noting that he is a descendant of Nathan Hale executed for spying on the British for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Hale paraphrased his ancestor's reported last words, saying, "I have but this one life to give in service of my country."[18]
The Australian charity Blueprint for Free Speech awarded Hale its international prize in December 2021. In its citation, the charity said Hale's actions "prompted greater openness from the Obama administration about their drone policy, and greater demands for ongoing accountability to the public".[7]
Hale, Daniel (as "Anonymous") (2016). "Why I Leaked the Watchlist Documents". In Scahill, Jeremy (ed.). The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government's Secret Drone Warfare Program. New York. ISBN978-1-5011-4415-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
