Jack Teixeira, US Guard suspected of leaking multiple Pentagon documents hit with two federal charges
The US Air National Guardsman who is accused of leaking classified US documents was brought to court on Friday, April 14th. He even told his father he loved him at the short hearing.
Jack Teixeira was charged in Boston by a Boston court with the unauthorized transmission and detention of national defense data and the unauthorized removal and destruction of classified defense and information materials. The charges can carry sentences of up to 10 years and 5 years respectively.
The 21-year-old who was shackled wore prison khakis and was ordered to remain in custody until the detention hearing on Wednesday, April 19, 2019.
Teixeira, a heavily armed federal agent, was arrested outside his North Dighton home in Massachusetts on Thursday, following a seven-day investigation into the online release of secret records.
He was accused of having accessed highly classified material through his position as a guardsman and then sharing it with members of a private Discord chat room that he managed earlier this year.
Before going viral, the classified materials were posted on social media. They included battlefield information relating to the wars in Ukraine, South Korea, and Israel.
Teixeira did not enter a formal pleading during the Friday proceedings. He only replied quietly after the judge informed him about his rights.
During the hearing, his father shouted out “I love you, Jack.” Teixeira did not turn around but replied “I love you, Dad,” Fox News reported.
Teixeira’s access to government systems and security clearance has been revoked in the wake of his arrest.
According to an affidavit unsealed Friday, the social media site, Discord’s billing records and interviews with another user helped the FBI identify Teixeira as the alleged leaker.
The user, who isn’t identified in the affidavit, told the FBI that a Discord username linked to Teixeira started posting what appeared to be classified information around December.
Teixeira, who had allegedly initially typed out the documents to share with his online pals, started taking them home and photographing them because he was “concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace,” the affidavit says.
