Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security secrets, is expected to plead guilty on Monday in federal court.
The 22-year-old is due to appear in Boston’s federal courthouse for a change of plea hearing nearly a year after he was arrested in the case stemming from the most consequential national security leak in years.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been behind bars since his April arrest in the case that raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout.
The leak led the Pentagon to tighten controls to safeguard classified information, and the Air Force disciplined 15 personnel as its inspector general found last year that multiple officials intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Jack Teixeira previously pleaded not guilty to the charges surrounding his alleged posting of classified documents on the social media platform Discord, but prosecutors have now asked the federal judge to schedule a change of plea hearing for Monday.
FBI agents arrest Jack Teixeira, an employee of the U.S. Air Force National Guard, in connection with an investigation into the leaks online of classified U.S. documents, outside a residence in this still image taken from video in North Dighton, Massachusetts, April 13, 2023
Jack Douglas Teixeira is seen in this image from his 2020 High School yearbook. Teixeira graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School in Massachusetts
Teixeiraa, Massachusetts native, has been locked up since his arrest last April. He had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act.
Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
A judge last year ordered Teixeira to remain behind bars while he awaits trial after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could help him escape.
Teixeira remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, the Air Force said.
Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys have provided further details about Teixeira’s plea agreement.
Teixeira, 22, was indicted on six counts of willful retention of national defense information and the subsequent leaking of it
The US Department of Justice released photo evidence collected during the investigation into US Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents online
Investigators say Teixeira was in charge of a group on the platform called Thug Shaker Central, in which weapons and wars were discussed
Teixeira was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts when authorities say he illegally collected military secrets and shared them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
Investigators say Teixeira was in charge of a group on the platform called Thug Shaker Central, in which weapons and wars were discussed.
Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and began last January to share military secrets with his Discord pals.
Chats between the 22-year-old and members of the Discord group indicate that his actions may have been motivated more by bravado than any specific ideology.
Prosecutors have urged the judge to keep the defendant locked up as the case plays out for reasons including a large arsenal of weapons found at his house and a history of disturbing online statements.
In one social media post, he wrote that if he could, he would kill a ‘ton of people’ because it would be ‘culling the weak minded.’
Judge Indira Talwani denied him bail after determining that ‘No set of release conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community, or prevent destruction of evidence.’
Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, seated second from right, is accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform
Teixeira worked as a ‘cyber transport systems specialist,’ essentially an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks.
Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings.
Teixeira was found out on April 6 last year – the same day the New York Times ran a story about the leaked documents.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.
Allies then had to be reassured that their secrets were being well safeguarded by the US government.
Prosecutors have said little about an alleged motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.
Prosecutors have said little about an alleged motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy
Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information for which he did not have permission to view.
In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.
Even after the warning, he was again flagged for looking through information not directly related to the intelligence field.
Authorities have not provided much insight into possible motives for Teixeira’s behavior.
The Air Force inspector general found that members ‘intentionally failed to report the full details’ of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact.
For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the note, there was no follow up to ensure the note had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.
It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.