The U.S. Justice Department released the below information yesterday:
A
former member of the U.S. Air National Guard (USANG), Jack Douglas Teixeira,
22, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in federal court in
Boston for retaining and transmitting hundreds of pages of classified National
Defense Information (NDI), including many documents designated top secret, on
an online social media platform in 2022 and 2023. Teixeira, was sentenced to 15
years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Teixeira
was also barred from having contact with foreign agents.
In March, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful
retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national
defense. Teixeira was arrested in April 2023 and charged by criminal complaint
with retention and transmission of NDI and unauthorized removal and retention
of classified documents or materials. He was subsequently indicted by a federal
grand jury in Boston in June 2023. He has remained in federal custody since his
arrest.
“Jack Teixeira repeatedly shared classified national defense
information on a social media platform in an attempt to impress anonymous
friends on the internet – instead, it has landed him a 15 year sentence in
federal prison,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Teixeira’s profound
breach of trust endangered our country’s national security and that of our
allies. This sentence demonstrates the seriousness of the obligation to
protect our country’s secrets and the safety of the American people.”
“This sentencing is a stark warning to all those entrusted with
protecting national defense information: betray that trust, and you will be
held accountable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Jack Teixeira’s
criminal conduct placed our nation, our troops, and our allies at great risk.
The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect
classified information and ensure that those who turn their backs on their
country face justice.”
“Mr. Teixeira is responsible for engaging in one of the most
significant leaks of classified documents and information in United States
history, which resulted in exceptionally grave and long-lasting damage to the
national security of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S.
Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “He exploited his Top-Secret security
clearance to share critical defense information online. In doing so, he exposed
sensitive defense information involving our allies, putting our intelligence
community and our troops at risk. It is vital that our classified information
remains just that – classified. Leaking and distributing this kind of
information poses significant and real consequences across the globe. This is
disturbing conduct that will not go unnoticed and unchecked.”
Teixeira enlisted in the USANG in September 2019. Until his
arrest in 2023, he served with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis USANG Base
in Massachusetts as a Cyber Defense Operations Journeyman. Teixeira's primary
responsibility was maintaining and troubleshooting the classified workstations
of other members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing. In order to perform his job,
Teixeira was granted a Top-Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information security
clearance in 2021. Beginning in or around January 2022, Teixeira unlawfully
retained and transmitted NDI classified as “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET” and/or
Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), onto the social media platform
Discord to persons not authorized to receive such information.
Teixeira used a secure workstation at the Otis USANG Base to
conduct hundreds of searches for classified documents containing NDI that were
unrelated to his duties. On two separate occasions, Teixeira’s superiors warned
him not to take notes on classified intelligence information and to stop
conducting “deep dives” into classified intelligence information. Despite these
warnings and his considerable training, Teixeira purposefully and repeatedly
removed classified information and documents containing NDI without
authorization from the secure facility where he worked. Teixeira subsequently
transmitted the information by typing it into an online social media platform,
where it was further transmitted by other users. Teixeira also posted images of
hundreds of classified documents to a social media platform, nearly all of
which bore standard classification markings – including “SECRET,” “TOP SECRET”
and SCI designations – indicating that they contained highly classified U.S.
government information. The documents and information illegally disseminated by
Teixeira discussed a range of topics including descriptions of the
Russia-Ukraine conflict and troop movements on a particular date. The
information he retained and disseminated was derived from sensitive U.S. intelligence,
gathered through classified sources and methods.
Shortly before his arrest in April 2022, Teixeira took steps to
conceal his disclosures by destroying and disposing of his electronic devices,
deleting his online accounts, and encouraging his online acquaintances to do
the same.
The FBI Washington and Boston Field Offices investigated the
case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney's
Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadine Pellegrini, Jared C. Dolan, and Jason A. Casey for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.
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