Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking highly classified military information regarding national security secrets, is slated to enter a guilty plea in a federal court on Monday.
Almost a year after being arrested in connection with the most significant national security breach in recent memory, the 22-year-old North Dighton, Massachusetts native is scheduled to appear in Boston’s federal courthouse for a change of plea hearing.
Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense secrets under the Espionage Act. The maximum sentence for each crime is ten years in jail. A judge last year ordered Teixeira to stay in jail until his trial, after prosecutors disclosed Teixeira’s past use of violent speech and issued a warning that he might be helped by U.S. foes looking to use him as a source of information.
Authorities claim that Teixeira unlawfully gathered military secrets while serving with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. He then published the information with other users on the social networking site Discord, a popular platform among online video gamers. Teixeira was employed by the military communications networks as a “cyber transport systems specialist,” or an IT specialist.
Authorities claim that after accessing confidential information, he first wrote it out before distributing pictures of files with TOP SECRET and SECRET labels. Unvarnished covert assessments on Russia’s war in Ukraine, other countries’ capabilities and geopolitical objectives, and other matters pertaining to national security were reportedly made public by the leak.
Teixeira was characterized by Discord users as someone who was just interested in flaunting his skills, rather than influencing American policy or educating the public about U.S. military activities.
The Pentagon tightened safeguards to protect secret material as a result of the leak, and the Air Force reprimanded 15 individuals when its inspector general discovered last year that some officials had purposefully neglected to take necessary action over Teixeira’s suspicious activity.
