OAN’s Noah Herring
3:38 PM – Thursday, June 15, 2023
Jack Teixeira, who is a member of the Air National Guard, was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury in Boston on six charges under the Espionage Act. He was charged for purportedly leaking classified documents.
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Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was arrested in April and faces charges including retention and transmission of classified information related to national defense, including records of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Among the documents was information on military activities, including spy planes in the area, U.S. official’s opinion on Ukrainian forces’ training and readiness, as well as estimates on the number of troops killed and equipment destroyed on both sides.
The unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified information could possibly jeopardize our nation’s security. 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 allies, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said.
“We are committed to ensuring that those entrusted with sensitive national security information adhere to the law.”
Teixeira had a top-secret clearance while working at Otis Air National Guard base. He allegedly distributed the documents that he obtained on social media, as well as a private Discord channel known as “Thug Shaker Central,” which had around 30 people online who were mostly men and teenagers, according to multiple reports.
FBI director Christopher Wray said, “The allegations in today’s indictment reveal a serious violation of that trust,” responding to the indictment.
Teixeira’s defense team argued that he had cooperated with the investigation and did not intend for the documents to be spread.
“As laid out in the indictment, Jack Teixeira was entrusted by the United States government with access to classified national defense information — including information that reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Teixeira is charged with sharing information with users on a social media platform he knew were not entitled to receive it. In doing so, he is alleged to have violated U.S. law and endangered our national security.”
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By: OAN
