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The accused leaker of classified information, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, has had his first court appearance.
The Department of Defense has accused him of leaking documents that contain “sensitive and highly-classified material” and was charged Friday with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents.
Fox News reported: “Teixeira, wearing handcuffs and khaki prison jumpsuit, was read the charges shortly after 10 a.m. local time during an appearance in federal court in Boston. He did not enter a plea and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing set for Wednesday, April 19, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The appearance at the federal courthouse comes after Teixeira was taken into custody by the FBI less than 24 hours ago at his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts.”
During the hearing, his dad was heard shouting “I love you, Jack!” to which the suspect responded, “I love you Dad.”
BREAKING NEWS: Classified leak suspect, dad tell each other 'I love you' after he is charged in federal courthttps://t.co/fcZlBKpHob
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 14, 2023
BREAKING: Jack Teixeira’s parents declined to comment on the charges against their son as they exited federal court. @wbz pic.twitter.com/bTHxBROWmK
— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) April 14, 2023
“I am joined today by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. Today, the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday.
“Teixeira is an employee of the United States Air Force National Guard.
“FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident. He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts,” he said.
“I want to thank the FBI, Justice Department prosecutors, and our colleagues at the Department of Defense for their diligent work on this case. This investigation is ongoing. We will share more information at the appropriate time. Thanks, everyone,” he said.
The documents he allegedly shared were extremely sensitive, and one included “described the status of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including troop movements, on a particular date” which is “based on sensitive U.S. intelligence, gathered through classified sources and methods, and contains national defense information.”
Fox News reported.
At one point, the person told investigators Teixeira “explained that he had become concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace, so he began taking the documents to his residence and photographing them.”
Based on conversations this person had with Teixeira, he then learned his first name was Jack and “appeared to reside in Massachusetts, and claimed that he was in the United States Air National Guard,” according to the complaint.
The affidavit alleged that the suspect, on April 6, “used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word “leak.”
“Accordingly, there is reason to believe that TEIXEIRA was searching for classified reporting regarding the U.S. Intelligence Community’s assessment of the identity of the individual who transmitted classified national defense information, to include the Government Document,” it said.
CNN reported.
Teixeira is believed to be the leader of a small group on Discord, a social media platform popular with video gamers, where the trove of classified documents had been posted, multiple US officials told CNN.
The leaked classified documents, 53 of which have been reviewed by CNN, included a wide range of highly classified information, including eavesdropping on key allies and adversaries and blunt assessments on the state of the Ukraine war.
The FBI said Thursday that Teixeira was arrested “for his alleged involvement in leaking classified US government and military documents.”
Investigators narrowed in on the potential members of the chat group with evidence collected following the discovery of the classified documents online. Teixeira was under surveillance for at least a couple of days prior to his arrest by the FBI on Thursday, according to a US government source familiar with the case.
A former middle school and high school classmate of the suspect, Brooke Cleatherom, said that fellow students were wary of him.
“A lot of people were wary of him,” she said. “He was more of a loner, and having a fascination with war and guns made him off-putting to a lot of people.”
