US Airman Indicted for Pentagon Documents Leak: Jack Teixeira
The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been charged with federal felonies, the Justice Department said Thursday. He is suspected of leaking extremely sensitive military data.
Six charges of intentional retention and dissemination of national security secrets are laid against Jack Teixeira in the indictment.
He was detained in April on suspicion of disseminating extremely sensitive military information regarding Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and other important matters of national security in a chat room on Discord, a social media site that originated as a gaming community hangout.
The shocking leak made the public aware of unvarnished, top-secret assessments on the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other countries, as well as other national security concerns, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A court ruled last month that Teixeira must stay behind bars while he awaits trial because releasing him would put him at danger of trying to escape the country or obstructing justice.
His family has shown support, and his attorneys had urged the court to free him for return to his father on the grounds that he had no prior criminal history.
