The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents has been charged with federal felonies, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Jack Teixeira faces six counts in the indictment of intentional withholding and transmission of national defense information.
Jack Teixeira, who is assigned to Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, is accused of posting classified military secrets in an online gaming chat room.
He was arrested in April on charges of sharing highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other major national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. The startling breach exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, other nations’ geopolitical interests and capabilities, and other national security issues.
Last month, a judge ordered him to remain jailed while he awaits trial, saying releasing Teixeira would risk him trying to flee the country or obstructing justice.
His family have expressed their support for him, and his lawyers have pressured the judge to turn him over to his father, saying he has no criminal record.
