Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking classified documents

22 year old former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking classified military documents.

Teixeira was an active Discord member under his alias ‘OG’. He joined a group where new members were only welcome if they received an invitation to join.

On the platform, he published documents labeled as ‘classified’ and ‘top secret’, meaning that the files contained information about US national security and were only allowed to be viewed by a handful of senior US government employees and military officers.

The documents came from Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the military base where Teixeira was stationed. He worked in a department where he was not allowed to carry smartphones or other electronic devices. That way, the army tried to prevent the leaking of military information. Despite the measures, the suspect managed to take pictures of secret military documents.

The documents that Teixeira published online contained information about the war in Ukraine, and US support for Israel’s secret service Mossad. In addition, it covered alleged arms deliveries from Turkey to Russia, South Korea’s arms sales to Ukraine, plans by Russia’s mercenary army the Wagner Group to expand its operations into Africa, and activities by the Americans to spy on Western allies.

When the classified documents appeared on social media, the Pentagon launched an investigation into the leak. In April 2023, Teixeira emerged as a suspect and was detained by the FBI. In June, he was charged with storing and disclosing state secret national security information, and the unauthorized removal of classified documents. Teixeira has been in custody since his arrest.

In March 2024, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information.

According to Reuters, Teixeira apologized in court for all the harm his actions brought and caused.

Prosecutors pushed for nearly 17 years in prison, Teixeira’s lawyers urged for an 11 year sentence. US District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Teixeira for 15 years.