Who is Jordan Brown? How did ex-US Navy man end up in India without a passport?

Months after the arrest of US national Matthew VanDyke, another American has been arrested by Indian authorities. On Saturday (July 11), a 36-year-old, identified as Jordan Brown, was nabbed by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in the Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh while trying to cross over to Nepal without valid travel documents.

Now, Brown is being questioned by multiple intelligence and security agencies. So far, there’s no evidence of any suspicious or anti-national links.

But who is Brown? And how did he end up in India?

Here’s what we found out.

SSB arrests Jordan Brown at Indo-Nepal border

On Saturday, 36-year-old Jordan Brown was intercepted by officials of the SSB as he tried to cross over into Nepal from near Border Pillar No. 516 under the Bhagwanpur police outpost in the Sonauli Kotwali area, away from the designated immigration route.

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Security personnel stated that they spotted Brown approaching the border and asked him to stop. However, Brown tried to flee the spot and was then stopped by SSB authorities.

On being nabbed, officials recovered Rs 31, 460 in cash and two mobile phones from Brown, said a PTI news report. Another report by Hindustan Times also added that religious books, an AI translation device, a Chinese passport, a diary, and a wristwatch were seized from Brown.

Investigators are examining all the recovered items, especially the Chinese passport.

The authorities have booked Brown under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act for entering India without valid documents. “We have informed the embassies, and further legal proceedings are underway,” said an officer.

So far, officials haven’t found any evidence linking Brown to suspicious or anti-national activities. However, the investigation is still ongoing. Agencies are checking all of Brown’s claims, including his identity, travel history, and how he entered India, before reaching any conclusions.

The life of US national Jordan Brown

The 36-year-old American told officials that he’s from California. Brown also told interrogating officers that he studied at the University of California. He further told them that he had served in the US navy and Special Forces for six years before leaving service two years ago.

“The accused told police that he had served in the US Navy and Foreign Services until 2024,” an unnamed police officer told The Print.

Sonauli Station House Officer Mahendra Mishra was also quoted as saying that Brown had told them of him being a former US military personnel and that both his parents had passed away.

The US national, according to officials, had travelled to 70 countries and had arrived in India in May.

Brown’s differing statements confuse authorities

What has raised suspicions for the authorities is Brown’s varying statements. In one account, he noted that he had travelled to Thailand on a tourist visa, where he lost his passport. He then allegedly travelled to Sri Lanka by sea before reaching India through another sea route on November 2, 2025. Since then, he claimed to have been residing in Goa.

However, in another statement, he told the authorities that he arrived in Goa directly from the United States two months ago. He said he spent six weeks there before travelling to Bengaluru, then boarded a long-distance bus to Lucknow on July 8 and later reached Gorakhpur, from where he hired a taxi to Sonauli.

In another statement, Brown said he had married an Indian yoga instructor from Uttarakhand in October 2024 after meeting her in Italy three years ago.

Brown further claimed he was travelling to Nepal to meet a Nepalese national identified only as “Naz”, whom he had met in Goa. When asked about the lack of identification documents, he said another acquaintance in Bengaluru was holding his passport.

Not a lone case

The arrest of Brown evokes memories of the arrest of US national Matthew VanDyke. Earlier in March, the 46-year-old was arrested along with six other Ukrainian nationals over alleged terror activities linked to insurgent training in Myanmar.

Earlier in March, Indian authorities arrested Matthew VanDyke, a US national. over alleged terror activities linked to insurgent training in Myanmar. Image Courtesy: X

The case also involved alleged drone warfare training, unlawful border crossings, and suspected connections to armed groups operating near India’s northeastern region.

At the time of his arrest, VanDyke described himself as a security analyst, war correspondent, and documentary filmmaker. He first drew global attention during the 2011 Libyan Civil War after joining the rebel fighters on the ground, and subsequently was imprisoned.

Currently in Tihar Jail in Delhi, VanDyke has requested authorities for an “American-style diet”. He has been unable to eat the “spicy, oily and deep-fried” food served in prison and has remained on a hunger strike for around 50 days, his lawyers reportedly told the court.

With inputs from agencies