By Nate Raymond
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Massachusetts (Reuters) – Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking classified U.S. national security documents online, was arraigned on Friday on charges brought by the U.S. Air Force that he violated military laws.
During a brief appearance before a military judge at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, 22-year-old Teixeira deferred entering a plea to charges that he obstructed justice and failed to obey a lawful order until closer to when his court-martial trial is scheduled to begin on March 10.
The Air Force announced in May it was pursuing charges that he violated military laws after Teixeira had already pleaded guilty in March to separate charges in federal court brought by the U.S. Justice Department.
Air Force prosecutors say Teixeira ignored an order to cease accessing classified information unrelated to his duties and obstructed justice by disposing of an iPad, computer hard drive and iPhone after the leaks were uncovered and instructing someone to delete online messages Teixeira had sent.
Military Judge Colonel Vicki Marcus at Friday’s hearing said she would hold hearings in November and January where she would address any pre-trial motions from defense lawyers. They have argued the charges were brought in violation of Teixeira’s constitutional right to not be prosecuted twice for the same offense.
Teixeira was arrested in April 2013 after authorities said he carried out one of the most serious U.S. national security breaches in years while working as a cyber defense operations journeyman, or information technology support specialist.
Despite being a low-level airman, Teixeira held a top-secret security clearance, and starting in January 2022 began accessing hundreds of classified documents related to topics including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to prosecutors.
Teixeira shared classified information on the messaging app Discord in private servers – a kind of chat room – while bragging that he had access to “stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Justice Department plans to seek a sentence of more than 16 years when Teixeira is sentenced on Nov. 12.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, editing by Deepa Babington)
