A federal grand jury has indicted a former member of the US Air National Guard for allegedly posting sensitive information online.
On Thursday afternoon in Massachusetts, Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged with six counts of wilfully keeping and transferring sensitive national defence information.
Teixeira was detained by federal authorities after being apprehended by FBI officers on April 13 at his North Dighton residence.
‘The unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified information jeopardizes our nation’s security,’ stated Joshua Levy, the acting US attorney for Massachusetts.
‘Individuals granted access to classified materials have a fundamental duty to safeguard the information for the safety of the United States, our active service members, its citizens and its allies.
‘We are committed to ensuring that those entrusted with sensitive national security information adhere to the law.’
Teixeira is accused of using his position as a systems administrator in the state guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing to obtain classified Pentagon records and illegally post it on social media sites.
He had top secret security clearance since July 2021 and was trained on properly handling classified information, according to the indictment.
Teixeira is accused of sharing top secret records ‘regarding the compromise by a foreign adversary’ as well as information around providing equipment to Ukraine, the indictment reveals.
He also disseminated ‘a government document discussing a plot by a foreign adversary to target United States forces abroad’ with specifics on how and where the attack was planned on the US, according to the indictment.
Teixeira was reportedly the leader of a small online chat group on Discord that was believed to have uploaded hundreds of classified documents and photographs. Named Thug Shaker Central, the group apparently comprised of 20 to 30 members with a shared love of racist memes, video games and guns.
Teixeira previously pleaded not guilty to the charges from the criminal complaint.
If convicted, Teixeira could face up to 10 years in prison for each of the charges.
Teixeira’s lawyer Michael Bachrach declined to comment on the indictment.