Jack Teixeira, a member of the U.S. Air National Guard who is accused of leaking classified military documents on the social media platform “Discord”, is currently facing six federal charges.
Teixeira, a 21-year-old man from Massachusetts, currently faces six counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting classified information related to national defense, each of which can be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges on the 15th of this month and highlighted the trust and national security that Teixeira’s alleged leaks have undermined.
“Individuals with security clearances are entrusted with protecting classified information and protecting our national secrets,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The allegations outlined in today’s indictment reveal a serious violation of that trust.”
Teixeira has been in federal custody since his April 13 arrest. But the fact that U.S. national security secrets were disseminated through online chat rooms has undoubtedly become a shame on the federal government, and has caused tension between the federal government and its allies, and has also created the risk of exposing military secrets.
The indictment describes how Teixeira first joined the Air National Guard in September 2019 and received a top-secret security clearance until 2021.
But shortly thereafter, around January 2022, the DOJ charged that Teixeira began accessing, copying, and publishing sensitive information and sharing it within the “Discord” online community he frequented with gamers.
The indictment explained that Teixeira either transcribed the classified information himself, or took photos of the records and posted them online.
The information included sensitive details about Ukraine’s efforts to repel a full-scale military operation launched by Russia in February 2022. The allegedly leaked documents include updates on Ukrainian air defenses, casualties, U.S. aid, and details about Russian espionage.
The records also revealed intelligence related to U.S. military interests in other parts of the world.
For example, some documents appear to indicate that the United States has been spying on South Korean security officials and pressured South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue to supply ammunition to Ukraine.
The content drew outcry from South Korean politicians, some of whom accused the United States of violating their national sovereignty. Other officials questioned the veracity of the content and said some records had been altered.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy pointed out in a statement released on the 15th that “individuals who are granted access to classified material will have a fundamental obligation to protect the information security of the United States, service members, U.S. citizens, and their allies.”
But as Teixeira became a suspect in the leak, people began to question how the 21-year-old was able to gain access to so much information, and in such a free manner.
The Justice Department document said Teixeira was reprimanded twice in September and October last year for “related actions” he took while handling classified information.
An Air Force memo dated Sept. 15 last year relayed how a senior officer “observed Teixeira’s recording of classified intelligence information.” When Teixeira “put the note in his pocket,” the superior official had asked him if he intended to tear it up. They met to discuss the incident, and Teixeira was “instructed not to take any further notes of any kind”.
But by the next month — a memo dated Oct. 27 — Teixeira’s superiors believed he “may have disregarded orders to cease further investigation of intelligence information,” according to a memo dated Oct. 27.
Defense attorneys for the 21-year-old man pushed for him to be released on bail by his father after Teixeira was arrested in April in North Dayton, Massachusetts.
But in May, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy ruled that Teixeira could not be held on bail until his trial, given the particular gravity of the crimes he is charged with and his credibility in question.
Hennessy hinted that Teixeira might be a flight risk.
Hennessy said, “Foreign countries know that this defendant is disloyal to the United States.” He also mentioned Teixeira’s “obsession with guns” and his online statements with conspiracy theories and threatening language.
The release of the indictment on the 15th coincides with the last day that the US government must file formal charges: prosecutors must file charges within 30 days of Teixeira’s arrest.