Former Air National Guardsman turned Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira gets a 15-year prison sentence in federal court on Tuesday for exposing hundreds of classified military documents – some involving the Russian invasion of Ukraine – in a Discord chat group back in 2022.
The now 22-year-old Teixeira, who pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified national defense information as part of a plea deal in March, was handed down the sentence by US District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon.
“Teixeira perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history,” the government stated in its sentencing memorandum, labeling the harm caused to national security as “extraordinary.”
The former Airman First Class of the 102nd Intelligence Wing was said to have stolen hundreds of classified documents using a Top-Secret military clearance while working for the Massachusetts Air National Guard, which he joined in 2019.
The military documents contained highly sensitive information, including details of Ukraine's air defenses and troop movements during the Russian invasion to Israel's Mossad spy agency.
"I'm sorry for all of the harm that I've wrought and that I've caused," Teixeira told the judge, appearing at the sentencing dressed in an orange jumpsuit, reported Reuters.
"I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring," he said.
Teixeira was knowingly deliberate
Boasting of his get, Teixeira claimed he had access to "stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China" according to prosecutors.
In one example, court records show Teixeira posted information about “the provision of equipment to Ukraine, how the equipment would be transferred, and how it would be used upon receipt,” putting the lives of allied partners at risk.
He eventually began posting images of the top secret documents inside his all-male Discord chat group “Thug Shaker Central” around January 2022.
Although the Discord chat room barely had two dozen members, one member uploaded some of the leaked docs to another gaming platform, eventually spreading across the internet and catching the attention of the Pentagon.
According to the sentencing memorandum, Teixeira had “received extensive training on the handling of classified information, the damage disclosure of the information could cause, and the criminal penalties he could face for willfully transmitting national defense information” and therefore fully understood that his “actions were unlawful.”
The former guardsman was arrested by the FBI at his childhood home in the suburban town of North Dighton, Massachusetts last April, originally pleading not guilty to his crimes, which could have led to a nearly 60 years in prison sentence and up to a $250,000 fine if convicted by trial.
At the time, prosecutors portrayed Teixeira as an unhinged egocentric radical with white nationalist tendencies who regularly glamorized violence, weapons, and mass murder releasing pictures of his camouflage-covered bedroom walls and weapons caches.
The arrest led to an investigation as to why a low-level guardsman had Top Secret clearance allowing him access to the sensitive information, leading to the suspension of two leaders at Teixeira’s Air National Guard unit.
“The Teixeira incident revealed critical gaps in insider risk management within federal agencies. As the Air Force navigates these challenges, the federal sector finds itself at a crucial juncture, with an opportunity to learn, adapt, and fortify insider risk strategies to better safeguard national security,” said Rajan Koo, Chief Technical Officer at DTEX Systems at the time of Teixeira’s plea reversal.
“The incident highlights the urgent need to uplift national security posture and serves as a catalyst for positive change in federal insider risk management,” Koo said.
Under the plea deal, Teixiera will also be forced to pay a $50,000 fine and be subjected to three years of supervised release after serving the 15-year prison term.
Teixeira has also entered into a written agreement to resolve separate military charges, Reuters reported.
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