Former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who admitted to unlawfully sharing sensitive military information in online chat rooms in what prosecutors described as one of the “most prolific” and “rare” government leak incidents, is set for sentencing in a Boston courtroom on Tuesday.
Release of dozens of classified government documents
Teixeira, a 22-year-old from Massachusetts, entered a guilty plea in March to six counts under the Espionage Act, admitting responsibility for the yearlong release of dozens of classified government documents, some labeled “top secret,” on the social media platform Discord. The leaked documents involved various sensitive issues, notably Russia’s war in Ukraine, with details on troop movements and schedules for Western arms deliveries to the region, according to investigators.
Federal law enforcement arrested Teixeira at his family’s Massachusetts residence after weeks of investigation into how classified Pentagon records surfaced online.
Jack Teixeira caused harm to national security
Prosecutors have requested that a federal judge impose a 200-month prison sentence—almost 17 years—on the defendant for his pivotal role in “one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history,” a breach that has spurred reforms in classified information management.
Prosecutors stated in an October court filing that the harm Teixeira caused to national security through his unauthorized disclosures was extraordinary.
Investigators reported that for over a year, Teixeira, who held top-secret security clearance as an IT worker at Otis Air National Guard Base, unlawfully accessed classified documents, either hand-copying or printing the information before sharing it in Discord chat rooms. He even reached out to others in his forums, offering to locate specific details about “events related to their countries,” court records indicated.
Jack Teixeira messages
The online appearance of the national defense information began in February 2022, but investigators did not link the leaks to Teixeira for more than a year. Prosecutors accused him of knowing his actions were illegal and breaking his commitment to serve.
As the investigation homed in on Teixeira’s unit, prosecutors alleged that he began instructing other members of the Discord group to “delete all messages.” In one message, he reportedly told a user, “[i]f anyone comes looking, don’t tell them sh**.” To another user, he allegedly wrote, “Try to delete all my messages in civil discussions.”
Prosecutors contended last month that Teixeira’s yearlong criminal conduct “critically and negatively impacted” the Department of Defense’s mission, putting fellow soldiers, civilians, and allied nations at risk, and urged the judge to impose a strict sentence.
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