Pentagon Leaks Suspect Jack Teixeira to Remain Jailed Pending Trial

A US airman accused of leaking top-secret documents will remain in jail pending trial, a federal judge ruled Friday, after prosecutors argued he posed a risk to US national security.

Jack Teixeira – a 21-year-old Air National Guard IT specialist – reportedly carried out the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade, posting a trove of highly sensitive information in an online chat forum.

The documents, which soon spread on the Internet, pointed to US concerns over Ukraine’s military capability against invading Russian forces and showed Washington apparently spied on allies Israel and South Korea, among other sensitive details. Was.

Prosecutors argued that Teixeira may still have access to classified documents and that “hostile” nations could help secure his release from prison, adding that he had a history of making “violent” statements.

Teixeira wrote on social media in November that he wanted to kill “a ton of people” because it would be “killing a weak mind,” prosecutors wrote in a court document.

Prosecutors also said that Airman asked another user for advice about what type of rifle would be easiest to operate from the back of an SUV, and that he searched mass shootings online.

– Repeated warnings –

He added that Teixeira possessed “a virtual arsenal of weapons, including bolt-action rifles, assault rifles, AR and AK-style weapons, and a bazooka,” with some firearms “just a few feet from his bed.”

Teixeira’s defense team stated that their client no longer had access to classified material and argued that the government was exaggerating the threat he posed, arguing that he should be placed with his father pending trial. should be released into custody.

The airman was arrested last month after a week-long investigation and was charged with two charges that carry a maximum jail term of 10 years and five years.

Prosecutors also filed three partially redacted US Air Force memos — dated between September 2022 and February 2023 — that showed this week that Teixeira received repeated warnings for abusing his access to classified information.

He was warned to take notes on classified information, later ignoring instructions to potentially stop “diving deep into intelligence information” and then “viewing material that was not related to his primary duty and belonged to the intelligence sector,” was observed. called documents.

According to an FBI affidavit, Teixeira still had a top secret security clearance at the time of his arrest, despite several warnings.

Teixeira is accused of “unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information” and “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials”.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP,