Former US National Guard charged with ‘leaking confidential documents’ | US News
A former US Air National Guardsman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly leaking confidential information online.
Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged Thursday afternoon in Massachusetts with six counts of premeditated possession and transmission of classified national defense information.
FBI agents arrested Teixeira at his home in North Dighton on April 13 and he has been in federal custody ever since.
“The unauthorized removal, storage and transmission of classified information threatens the security of our country,” said Joshua Levy, acting US Attorney for Massachusetts.
“Persons granted access to classified materials have a fundamental duty to protect the information to protect the security of the United States, our active duty military personnel, its citizens and its allies.”
“We are committed to ensuring that those entrusted with sensitive national security information comply with the law.”
Teixeira is accused of using his position as a systems administrator in the State Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing to obtain secret Pentagon data and illegally publish it on social media sites.
He had had top-secret security clearance since July 2021 and was trained in the proper handling of classified information, the indictment said.
Teixeira is accused of leaking top-secret records “about being compromised by a foreign adversary” and information about the supply of equipment to Ukraine, the indictment says.
He also circulated “a government document alleging a foreign adversary conspiring to attack US forces abroad,” detailing how and where the attack on the US was planned, the indictment said.
Teixeira was reportedly the leader of a small online chat group on Discord that was believed to have uploaded hundreds of classified documents and photos. The group, dubbed Thug Shaker Central, was apparently made up of 20 to 30 members with a shared fondness for racist memes, video games and guns.
Teixeira previously pleaded not guilty to the charges raised in the criminal complaint.
If convicted, Teixeira faces up to ten years in prison for each of the charges.
Teixeira’s attorney, Michael Bachrach, declined to comment on the charges.
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