Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, has pleaded guilty to the leak of highly classified military information, including sensitive documents related to the conflict in Ukraine and other national security matters. The plea deal mandates a minimum of 11 years in prison for his offenses.
Teixeira confessed to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, nearly a year following his arrest. His illegal actions involved collecting and disseminating some of the nation's most confidential data via Discord, a social media platform often used by gamers.
Despite his guilty plea, Teixeira remains in an unpaid status within the Air National Guard, where he served as a cyber transport systems specialist responsible for military communications networks.
Teixeira has been held in custody since his arrest in April 2023. According to prosecutors, Teixeira joined the USANG in September 2019 and obtained a top secret security clearance in 2021. Allegations suggest that starting around January 2022, Teixeira unlawfully kept and shared classified National Defense Information, marked as “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET,” as well as Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), on a social media platform.
Teixeira purportedly accessed classified documents with national defense information from a secure workstation at the Otis USANG Base. He then shared this information with other users on Discord. Additionally, he allegedly posted images of classified documents on the platform, which were clearly marked with standard classification labels, such as “SECRET,” “TOP SECRET,” and SCI.
Each charge of unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors have agreed not to pursue additional charges under the Espionage Act.