Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, recently pleaded not guilty to six federal charges related to leaking classified documents.
Teixeira entered his plea during his arraignment in federal court before Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy in Worcester, located in central Massachusetts.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston last week, facing six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
He is suspected of leaking classified documents from the Defense Department on Discord, a social media platform commonly used by online gamers. It is alleged that he obtained these documents while serving in the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
Teixeira was arrested by the FBI at a residence in North Dighton, which is located more than an hour away from the base where he was stationed.
The classified Pentagon documents were first discovered online in March, but it is believed that he had been sharing them on the internet since approximately January, according to prosecutors.
Teixeira was taken into custody by FBI agents in April and has remained in federal custody since mid-May. Prosecutors successfully argued for his detention, citing concerns that he may attempt to flee.
As stated in the indictment, Teixeira obtained a top-secret security clearance in approximately July 2021 and received training on the proper handling, classification levels, and definition of classified information.
The indictment highlights “Teixeira knew that unauthorized removal of classified materials and transportation and storage of those materials in unauthorized locations risked disclosure and transmission of those materials, and therefore could endanger the national security of the United States and the safety of its citizens”.
According to the indictment, Teixeira accessed classified documents, including national defense information, from a classified workstation at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. He then transcribed the text from these documents and published it on the social media platform.
The Justice Department noted that Teixeira began sharing the documents on Discord, some of which were classified as “TOP SECRET,” “SECRET,” or “Sensitive Compartmented Information, beginning in or around 2022 and continuing until his arrest in April”.
Prosecutors have alleged that among the leaked documents attributed to Teixeira, one contained discussions regarding a foreign adversary’s plan to target U.S. forces stationed overseas. Another document provided information about the provision of equipment to Ukraine and its intended use.
These leaked documents also reportedly contained details about U.S. intelligence activities concerning Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, secret assessments of Ukraine’s military capabilities, as well as intelligence gathering on American allies such as South Korea and Israel, as reported by sources.
The Justice Department lawyers stated that Teixeira had been observed taking notes on classified documents and had received warnings from superiors regarding his handling of sensitive information. Despite these warnings, he retained access to classified materials.
Teixeira’s military records indicate that he holds the rank of airman first class and has been serving in the Air National Guard since September 2019. He was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod and served as a cyber transport systems journeyman.
If convicted on all six counts, Teixeira could potentially face a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison and be subject to a fine of up to $1.5 million.
