A Massachusetts Air National Guard airman faces between 11 years and more than 16 years in prison after pleading guilty on Monday to leaking a trove of classified military secrets to impress an online gaming community.
Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira changed his initial plea of not guilty to guilty during a hearing in federal court in Boston on Monday. Teixeira admitted to leaking classified military documents on a social media platform for over a year before his June 2023 arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
“A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” a Justice Department news release says.
Teixeira had access to a wide range of highly classified as a member of the 102nd Intelligence WIng of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. An investigation found that three of his supervisors at the 102nd had seen him access classified docs or otherwise break rules for accessing secret information, but had not followed procedures for reporting him. The Wing’s commander was relieved in December and the wing was relieved of its intelligence mission.
Teixeira also had a history of online racism and posting violent remarks.
Teixeira joined the Air Force in September 2019, and was a cyber transport systems journeyman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to his service record, which the Air Force provided to Task & Purpose. His duty station is listed as Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, when he allegedly leaked classified documents in a chat group for video game enthusiasts that he oversaw called “Thug Shaker Central.”
“By knowingly and improperly posting classified national defense information on a social media platform, Mr. Teixeira callously disregarded the national security of the United States and betrayed the trust of the American people he swore to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement. “With today’s plea, the Department of Justice holds Mr. Teixeira accountable for his actions and makes clear the gravity of the responsibility to protect classified information and our national security.”
CORRECTION: 03/04/2024; this story was corrected to make clear that Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira could be sentenced to between 11 and more than 16 years in prison later this year.