Agence France-Presse
April 27, 2023
The US National Guard Bureau said Jack Teixeira enlisted in September 2019 and is an IT and communications specialist. (Stefani REYNOLDS/AFP)
A US national guardsman accused of leaking top secret documents had a history of making "violent" statements and owned numerous weapons, federal prosecutors alleged ahead of his detention hearing Thursday.
The Justice Department also said that 21-year-old Jack Teixeira might still have access to classified documents and that "hostile" nations could aid his escape if he is released from prison.
The prosecution argued that Teixeira poses "an ongoing risk" to America's national security and he should remain in jail until his trial.
The IT specialist with the US Air National Guard, is accused of orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade.
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The documents posted online unveiled US concern over Ukraine's military capacity against invading Russian forces, and showed Washington had apparently spied on allies Israel and South Korea.
Teixeira was arrested earlier this month following a week-long probe and charged with two counts that carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years and five years.
He wrote on social media in November that he wanted to "kill a ton of people" because it would be "culling the weak minded," according to the document filed late Wednesday.
Prosecutors also claim that the airman sought advice from another user about what type of rifle would be easy to operate from the back of an SUV and that he searched mass shootings online.
They added that Teixeira owned "a virtual arsenal of weapons, including bolt-action rifles, rifles, AR and AK-style weapons, and a bazooka," with some "just feet from his bed."
The document says that Teixeira was suspended from school in March 2018 after a classmate "overheard him make remarks about weapons, including Molotov cocktails, guns at the school, and racial threats."
Teixeira poses "a serious flight risk," the prosecutors argue.
"He accessed and may still have access to a trove of classified information that would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States," the filing said.
Teixeira, who has not yet entered a plea, is accused of the "unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information" and the "unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material."
Document leak suspect destroyed evidence and researched mass shootings: prosecutors
Reuters
April 26, 2023
Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman, in a photo his mother posted on social media.
By Sarah N. Lynch, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
(Reuters) -A U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents has a history of making violent threats, used his government computer to research mass shootings, and tried to destroy evidence of his crimes, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a 48-page filing, the Justice Department said 21-year-old Jack Teixeira should be detained pending trial, saying his violent rhetoric coupled with his apparent efforts to destroy evidence "compound his risk of flight and dangerousness."
Prosecutors will present their arguments in favor of detention to a U.S. magistrate judge in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Thursday afternoon.
Teixeira's lawyers have not commented on the case, and are expected to argue at Thursday's hearing that he should not be detained pre-trial.
The filing, which also contained photos of the suspect's bedroom from the FBI's search of his home, said that in July of 2022 he used his government computer to look up famous mass shootings using search terms such as "Uvalde," "Ruby Ridge" and "Las Vegas shooting."
During the search at his home, the FBI found a smashed tablet computer, a laptop and a gaming console inside a dumpster. In addition, prosecutors said they had unearthed evidence that Teixeira instructed other online users to "delete all messages."
Teixeira was charged earlier this month with one count of violating the Espionage Act related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to the unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.
If convicted, prosecutors said he faces up to 25 years in prison.
The leaked documents at the heart of the investigation are believed to be the most serious U.S. security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. The Pentagon has called the leak a "deliberate, criminal act."
Prosecutors said in their detention memo that Teixeira in February 2022 began accessing hundreds of classified documents not relevant to his job, and started posting some of the classified information on social media around December 2022.
"The damage the defendant has already caused to the U.S. national security is immense. The damage the defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary," the memo says.
The classified documents provided a wide variety of highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from Ukraine's air defenses to Israel's Mossad spy agency.
VIOLENT COMMENTS
Apart from the evidence that Teixeira tried to obstruct evidence and influence witnesses in the case, prosecutors said he has a troubled history dating back to his teenage years.
When he was 18, they said, his firearms identification card application was denied due to remarks he made while still in high school related to "weapons, including Molotov cocktails, guns at the school, and racial threats."
He also made violent comments about murder on social media, including one post in November 2022 saying that if he could, he would "kill a [expletive] ton of people" because it would be "culling the weak minded."
On Feb. 10, 2023, Teixeira sought advice from a user about what type of rifle would be easy to operate from the back of a parked SUV against a "target on a sidewalk or porch," according to the filing.
Prosecutors said they also found evidence that Teixeira admitted to others online that the information he was posting was classified.
In an exchange of chatroom messages included in the filing, Teixeira was asked whether the information he was posting was classified.
He responded: "Everything that ive been telling u guys up to this point has been."
In Wednesday's filing, prosecutors said: "There is no condition of release that can be set that will reasonably assure his future appearance at court proceedings or the safety of the community ... He should be detained."
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Idrees Ali, Phillip Stewart, Eric Beech and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Heather Timmons and Edmund Klamann)
Reuters
April 26, 2023
Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman, in a photo his mother posted on social media.
By Sarah N. Lynch, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
(Reuters) -A U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents has a history of making violent threats, used his government computer to research mass shootings, and tried to destroy evidence of his crimes, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a 48-page filing, the Justice Department said 21-year-old Jack Teixeira should be detained pending trial, saying his violent rhetoric coupled with his apparent efforts to destroy evidence "compound his risk of flight and dangerousness."
Prosecutors will present their arguments in favor of detention to a U.S. magistrate judge in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Thursday afternoon.
Teixeira's lawyers have not commented on the case, and are expected to argue at Thursday's hearing that he should not be detained pre-trial.
The filing, which also contained photos of the suspect's bedroom from the FBI's search of his home, said that in July of 2022 he used his government computer to look up famous mass shootings using search terms such as "Uvalde," "Ruby Ridge" and "Las Vegas shooting."
During the search at his home, the FBI found a smashed tablet computer, a laptop and a gaming console inside a dumpster. In addition, prosecutors said they had unearthed evidence that Teixeira instructed other online users to "delete all messages."
Teixeira was charged earlier this month with one count of violating the Espionage Act related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to the unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.
If convicted, prosecutors said he faces up to 25 years in prison.
The leaked documents at the heart of the investigation are believed to be the most serious U.S. security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. The Pentagon has called the leak a "deliberate, criminal act."
Prosecutors said in their detention memo that Teixeira in February 2022 began accessing hundreds of classified documents not relevant to his job, and started posting some of the classified information on social media around December 2022.
"The damage the defendant has already caused to the U.S. national security is immense. The damage the defendant is still capable of causing is extraordinary," the memo says.
The classified documents provided a wide variety of highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from Ukraine's air defenses to Israel's Mossad spy agency.
VIOLENT COMMENTS
Apart from the evidence that Teixeira tried to obstruct evidence and influence witnesses in the case, prosecutors said he has a troubled history dating back to his teenage years.
When he was 18, they said, his firearms identification card application was denied due to remarks he made while still in high school related to "weapons, including Molotov cocktails, guns at the school, and racial threats."
He also made violent comments about murder on social media, including one post in November 2022 saying that if he could, he would "kill a [expletive] ton of people" because it would be "culling the weak minded."
On Feb. 10, 2023, Teixeira sought advice from a user about what type of rifle would be easy to operate from the back of a parked SUV against a "target on a sidewalk or porch," according to the filing.
Prosecutors said they also found evidence that Teixeira admitted to others online that the information he was posting was classified.
In an exchange of chatroom messages included in the filing, Teixeira was asked whether the information he was posting was classified.
He responded: "Everything that ive been telling u guys up to this point has been."
In Wednesday's filing, prosecutors said: "There is no condition of release that can be set that will reasonably assure his future appearance at court proceedings or the safety of the community ... He should be detained."
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Idrees Ali, Phillip Stewart, Eric Beech and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Heather Timmons and Edmund Klamann)
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