Jack Teixeira, Air National Guard member, arrested in April for leaking classified military documents on social media
Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira is expected to plead guilty in his federal case of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, according to court documents filed Thursday. Prosecutors requested a change of plea hearing to Monday, indicating a shift from Teixeira’s earlier plea of not guilty. Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been in custody since his arrest in April, facing six counts of willful retention and transmitting national defense information.
The leak prompted the Biden administration to address concerns among the international community and reassure allies about the security of US privacy after Teixeira allegedly shared classified documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine on Discord, a platform popular among online gamers. Investigators believe he led a private chat group where participants discussed a variety of topics, including military matters.
Teixeira, listed as a cyber transport systems expert in 2019, shared classified information through text and photos marked as confidential and top secret. The FBI found Teixeira searching for “leaks” in a classified system shortly after The New York Times published a story about the breach. Billing records from Discord helped investigators trace Teixeira’s activities.
Despite warnings from senior officials about mishandling classified information, Teixeira continued to leak government secrets, as indicated by internal Air National Guard memos. While prosecutors emphasized Teixeira’s arsenal of weapons and his history of making troubling online statements, his defense pointed to the early release of other high-profile figures like former President Donald Trump.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani denied Teixeira’s request for release, saying “no combination of conditions could adequately ensure the safety of the community or prevent evidence tampering.”
