BOSTON — Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in connection with the leak of classified documents, feared federal authorities had discovered him days before his arrest, court documents showed Friday.
Judge David Hennessy told Teixeira, in his first court appearance here on Friday, that he was charged with possessing classified documents related to national security and possessing national defense materials.
The charges carry a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
Teixeria, on April 6, «used his government computer to search classified intelligence reports for the word ‘leak,'» according to an FBI affidavit supporting his arrest.
The first media reports on the leak were published that day, the FBI said, meaning that Teixeria “was seeking classified reports on the US intelligence community’s assessment of the identity of the individual who passed on classified information. of national defense”, says the affidavit.
as Teixeira appeared in courtat least three family members in attendance hugged and comforted each other after Teixeira, wearing a brown jail jumpsuit, was led to the defense table by US Marshals.
A family member appeared to say, «I love you,» while the defendant appeared to respond, «I love you, too.» NBC Boston reported.
Teixeira was not required to plead guilty during her initial court appearance on Friday. Her next court appearance was set for Wednesday.
After the brief hearing, Teixeira’s supporters left the courthouse arm in arm but did not answer questions from outside journalists.
Teixeira was arrested Thursday afternoon at a home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, federal officials said.
Teixeira, who holds the rank of Airman 1st Class, has had a top-secret security clearance since 2021, the FBI said.
An agent contacted an anonymous administrator of a social media platform, popular with gamers, where documents, many of which concerned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, began to surface last December.
That witness told investigators that he had online video conversations with the cartel, who «called himself ‘Jack’ and «appeared to reside in Massachusetts, and claimed he was in the United States Air National Guard,» the agent said. from the FBI.
The latest investigative moves that led to Teixeira’s arrest appeared to be moving quickly.
On Wednesday, the social media platform «provided the FBI with records pursuant to legal process,» which led the agent to Teixeira, according to the affidavit. The witness identified the suspect Thursday from Teixeira’s DMV photo, according to the affidavit.
Teixeira entered the Air National Guard in September 2019 and has been based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, assigned as a Cyber Transportation Systems Officer.
His arrest followed weeks of intense work by federal authorities searching for the source of the leak, which potentially exposed hundreds of pages of intelligence about Russian efforts in Ukraine and spying on US allies.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that the Defense Department is reviewing «methods of access, accountability and control procedures» with respect to confidential material.
«So that something like this never happens again,» Garland told reporters at an event announcing that the Justice Department was indicting 28 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel.
US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said he has a meeting with Pentagon officials next week when he will ask «how could this have happened?»
«You know, we spend billions and billions of dollars collecting these secrets and preserving these secrets, and for a 21-year-old to be able to access it, print it out, and then share it with a bunch of his teenage friends is just baffling.» Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Standing Committee on Intelligence, on MSNBC’s «José Díaz-Balart Reports.»
«This is absolutely ridiculous.»
Brian Michael reported from Boston and David K. Li from New York City.