SAM-702 to Fort Huachuca With Hansell Aboard (Claims)
:::caution Attributed claims only Bradley D. Hansell is a serving official accused of nothing. Travel by an Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence to the Army's intelligence headquarters is an unremarkable part of the job. Everything below is a reported claim by citizen researchers. :::
Claim snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| The claim | The Pentagon's top intelligence official was reportedly at Fort Huachuca and departed the morning of Sept 9, 2025 — the day before the killing |
| Raised by | Candace Owens; an anonymous self-described military tipster; @baroncoleman |
| First surfaced | Tipster email to Owens' tip line dated Dec 10, 2025 |
| Rests on | Public ADS-B tracking plus one anonymous emailed account |
| Evidence rating | MODERATE — checkable against records that exist |
What is alleged
Candace Owens reportedly identified Bradley D. Hansell — confirmed by the Senate on July 22, 2025 as Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security — as one of only four passengers on the VIP jet that citizen researchers say sat at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and left the morning of September 9, 2025. The aircraft is described as tail 99-0404, callsign SAM702, a USAF C-37A Gulfstream V from the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews. Owens stated that it was reportedly Hansell's office that booked the multi-leg trip — Andrews → Colorado Springs → Tucson — with the callsign allegedly changing from RCH to SAM as it entered Fort Huachuca on the 8th.
A tipster identifying himself as military emailed Owens' tip line on December 10, 2025 with his own reconstruction: the aircraft flew Andrews to Colorado Springs on September 7, Colorado Springs to Tucson on September 8, then departed Tucson roughly five hours later, at which point the transponder appears to switch off. It reappears at 12:31 pm on September 9 flying Fort Huachuca to El Paso, then El Paso back to Andrews. The tipster noted this was the only time he had ever observed this airframe at Fort Huachuca, and offered that an 11:43 am departure on the 9th would line up with the morning meeting a separate source describes.
The reason investigators care about the combination rather than either fact alone: Fort Huachuca is the Army's intelligence home, the timing is the eve of the assassination, and Hansell is separately described in the file as overseeing the HADES program — the same program associated with the N1098L aircraft tracked near UVU the next day.
The ordinary explanation
Fort Huachuca is the US Army Intelligence Center of Excellence. It hosts a continuous stream of senior-leader visits, and an Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security touring it is close to a job requirement rather than an anomaly — it would be more surprising if he never went. Reporting cited in the investigation file separately places Hansell with JTF-South Border leaders in Colorado Springs, and that single fact plausibly explains the entire Andrews → Colorado Springs → Tucson → Huachuca routing as an ordinary border-mission itinerary with a natural southern-Arizona leg.
The supporting anomalies dissolve on inspection too. SAM callsigns are assigned to any senior executive-branch or congressional traveler and are entirely unremarkable — the file itself notes Pam Bondi reportedly flew on the same airframe months earlier. A callsign change from RCH (Air Mobility Command airlift) to SAM (Special Air Mission) is exactly what happens when a distinguished visitor boards; it is a procedural relabel, not a concealment. Transponder gaps on military aircraft are ordinary and are frequently required by operational security rules that have nothing to do with any event on the ground.
What would settle it
- The 89th Airlift Wing's passenger manifest for tail 99-0404 for September 7–9, 2025.
- Hansell's official calendar for that week, obtainable by congressional request.
- The DoD travel authorization identifying which office booked the trip and its stated purpose.
- Confirmation of who boarded at Colorado Springs, which reportedly triggered the RCH-to-SAM change.
- Fort Huachuca's visitor and gate logs for September 8–9, 2025.
Sources
- Candace Owens on X (@RealCandaceO)
- Anonymous self-described military tipster, email to
tips@candaceowens.com, December 10, 2025 (reproduced in the investigation file; the sender is not identified) - Senate confirmation record, Bradley D. Hansell, July 22, 2025