Topline
Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking classified material on Discord, must remain in jail while he awaits criminal trial, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira must remain in jail while he awaits trial in … [+]
Key Facts
Massachusetts-based federal magistrate Judge David Hennessy rejected defense attorneys’ plea to release Teixeira until the start of his trial, the Washington Post and Associated Press reported.
Teixeira’s attorney Brian Kelley had argued that Teixeira had only intended to share the information with a small group of people in a social media group, and that he could be returned to his home under careful supervision. (Kelley did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.)
Key Background
FBI agents arrested Teixeira at his parents’ home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, last month in connection with leaking a trove of secret military and intelligence documents, releasing information on the war in Ukraine to a group of mostly teenagers on the messaging platform Discord. Teixeira, who works in intelligence with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. He had also allegedly tried destroying evidence, the Department of Justice argued last month.
Surprising Fact
Teixeira allegedly leaked the information on a Discord group called Thug Shaker Central, though a member of the online chat group told the New York Times the information was not meant to be shared outside of the group of roughly two dozen members. The information was later discovered on a Russian-language channel on the social media platform Telegram, leaking secret information on the status of the war in Ukraine, weapons systems and U.S. assessments of the war.
Further Reading
21-Year-Old Airman Jack Teixeira Arrested For Ukraine Document Leak (Forbes)
Pentagon Leak Suspect Teixeira Charged: Could Face 15 Years If Convicted (Forbes)
Classified Leaker Teixeira Tried Destroying Evidence And Should Remain In Jail, DOJ Argues (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/05/19/classified-documents-leak-suspect-jack-teixeira-must-remain-in-jail-judge-rules/