(CNN) — The Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents on social media has been indicted on six counts of knowingly withholding and transmitting classified information related to national defense, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Jack Teixeira, a junior airman working with the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, was arrested in April and charged under the Espionage Act. He allegedly took classified information from the Otis Air National Guard Base and is accused of posting the information on Discord, a popular social media platform among gamers.
“Teixeira also posted images of classified documents on the social media platform, which had standard classification markings, including the designations “SECRET”, “TOP SECRET” and SCI, indicating that they contained highly classified US government information.” the Justice Department said in its indictment announcement.
The 21-year-old Massachusetts native has yet to file a formal plea and remains in federal custody.
A judge ruled last month that Teixeira would remain in custody while he awaits trial, saying he has a “lack of integrity” and stressed that he put countless people in the US and abroad “at risk” by allegedly leaking the documents. .
“Who did he put at risk? You could make a list as long as a phone book: soldiers, medical personnel…Ukrainian personnel, Ukrainian soldiers,” Magistrate Judge David Hennessy said at the time. “We don’t know how many people it put at risk. I am not passing judgment on this information… but the government has said that if you release this information, you put the United States at grave risk.”
“And the defendant’s response to that was, ‘IDGAF,’” the judge said, invoking language Teixeira used in messages about the leaked documents.
Teixeira’s defense lawyers have argued that he did not expect the classified information he posted on Discord to spread further on the internet. Prosecutors, her lawyers previously argued, were being “hyperbolic” in their assessment of whether she could risk further compromising classified information.
This graphic representation shows Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in US District Court in Boston on April 14, 2023.
As previously reported by CNN, the memos revealed that Air Force leaders repeatedly warned Teixeira about inappropriate access to classified intelligence. The disclosure left former and current defense personnel baffled as to how he withheld his security clearance and was able to continue sharing classified information for months.
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