A clerk specialist in the Lancaster County Courthouse is facing criminal charges after prosecutors say he pulled personal information on an Iranian national from a county computer, then quietly passed it to an activist watchdog group while federal agents were in the building.
Prosecutors say that on Jan. 16, the employee used his county workstation to look up the person's name, home address and the name of their attorney, then shared those details with activists. The allegation has turned a routine courthouse job into a rare criminal case accusing a county staffer of misusing public records.
How Prosecutors Say He Crossed the Line
According to the Lancaster County District Attorney's office, two uniformed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents walked into the courthouse shortly before 3 p.m. on Jan. 16 seeking publicly filed information tied to the Iranian national's pending case.
Moments after the agents left, prosecutors allege, 31-year-old clerk specialist Lucas Keener, who worked in the prothonotary's office, asked a Clerk of Courts employee who the agents had been looking for. Charging documents say Keener then moved close enough to see a computer screen that showed the person’s information, typed the individual’s full name and address into his phone and sent it off to a watchdog group.
Those steps are detailed in the charging documents and in local coverage, according to WGAL.
District Attorney Blasts ‘Unacceptable Breach of Trust’
District Attorney Heather Adams did not mince words, calling the alleged conduct “an unacceptable breach of trust” that she says could put both law enforcement and the broader community at risk.
Prosecutors say that when detectives later interviewed Keener, he told them he had reached out to a watchdog group and admitted forwarding the individual’s information via the encrypted messaging app Signal. According to the criminal complaint, Keener said he believed he was “keeping the community safe,” told investigators he “believes people should not be deported” and referred to law enforcement as the “Gestapo,” as reported by KABB.
Local Flashpoint In Ongoing Immigration Fights
The case lands in the middle of a heated, years-long fight in Lancaster County over cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
County leaders, including the sheriff, previously ignited protests after entering into ICE’s 287(g) program in 2025, which allows local officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement tasks. Activists have pushed back at public meetings and through petitions, pressing officials to cut ties with ICE.
That ongoing controversy has put renewed focus on how federal agents move through county buildings and why local watchdog groups keep such a close eye on their courthouse activity, according to WITF.
Charges Filed And What Comes Next
Keener, a Lancaster City resident, is charged with one misdemeanor count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function by breach of official duty. Prosecutors say he will be arraigned at a later date.
Local reporting indicates Keener acknowledged to investigators that he may have used his county position to access the records. Detectives also obtained copies of the messages he allegedly sent to the watchdog group, according to WGAL.
