Pentagon leaker pleads guilty and will spend 16 years in prison after sharing military intel

Information leaked by Jack Teixeira included details of Russia’s ground war in Ukraine

Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking classified military documents, has accepted a plea agreement with the court.

Teixeira, 22, appeared in Boston's federal courthouse on Monday morning. He was arrested approximately one year ago for the “unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information,” according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

He was charged with six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defence information, which — under the Espionage Act — each carried a sentence maximum of 10 years in prison. Under his plea agreement, Teixeira will serve 16 years in prison.

In addition to the prison sentence, Teixeira will have to pay a $50,000 fine and will be subject to 36 months of supervised release.

The classified documents that he allegedly shared reportedly detailed Russia's ground war in Ukraine and contained other defence and national security secrets.

In June 2023, Teixeira pleaded not guilty to all six charges.

Teixeira reportedly had access to those documents via his work in the 102nd Intelligence Wing. He worked with the unit at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. While there, he reportedly accessed the classified files and then shared them with his gaming friends on Discord.

While prosecutors have not revealed a motive driving Teixeira’s leaks, users who were familiar with him on Discord described him as an individual who liked to brag and who portrayed himself as an important and powerful figure.

Members of the “Thug Shaker Central” Discord server — largely younger men who enjoyed anything related to the military, from video games to real-life firearms — reportedly posted memes about harming federal officials and that reflected anti-federal government conspiracies, according to Washington Post reporter Shane Harris.

A video showing Teixeira “shouting racist and antisemitic slurs before firing a rifle” was also shown to reporters from The Washington Post by members of the server.

In December, 15 Airmen were disciplined — including the removal of command — after they discovered that Teixeira was seeking classified information but did nothing to stop him.

As part of his plea agreement, Teixeira will have to meet with officials from both the Department of Defence and the Department of Justice to discuss his leaks and to give back any information he has in his possession.

Teixeira is still considered a member of the Air National Guard, though he has not been collecting pay since his prosecution.