AFP reported on June 16 that a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard has been indicted in connection with the shocking leak of top secret Pentagon documents. Information technology (IT) expert Jack Teixeira is accused of organizing the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade.
A federal grand jury in Boston indicted Teixeira on six additional counts of "willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense." Each count carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Defendant Jack Teixeira
Teixeira was arrested by the FBI at his home in Massachusetts (USA) on April 13 and charged with violating the Espionage Act and has been prosecuted by the Department of Justice for illegally accessing and disseminating classified defense information.
After being leaked on Discord, some of the files later appeared on other social media platforms such as Twitter, 4Chan, and Telegram.
The documents, which later circulated online, outlined US concerns about Ukraine's military capabilities and suspected US spying on allies such as Israel and South Korea, among other sensitive information.
It was the biggest leak since the National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, and raised questions about how a low-level employee like Teixeira could have access to highly classified documents.
Officer Teixeira is the third-lowest ranking officer in the US Air Force and has been granted access to top secret security clearance since 2021.
Last month, a judge ruled that Teixeira would remain in custody pending trial, after prosecutors determined he continued to pose a threat to US national security.
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