A Massachusetts Air National Guard airman who leaked a trove of classified military secrets to impress an online gaming community agreed to a 16-year prison sentence Monday in exchange for a guilty plea with federal prosecutors.
Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, changed a previous plea of not guilty to guilty during a hearing in federal court in Boston on Monday, March 4. Teixeira admitted to leaking classified military documents on a social media platform for over a year before his June 2023 arrest.
Teixeira had access to a wide range of highly classified as a member of the 102nd Intelligence WIng of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. An investigation found that three of his supervisors at the 102nd had seen him access classified docs or otherwise break rules for accessing secret information, but had not followed procedures for reporting him. The Wing’s commander was relieved in December and the wing was relieved of its intelligence mission.
Teixeira also had a history of online racism and posting violent remarks.
Teixeira joined the Air Force in September 2019, and was a cyber transport systems journeyman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to his service record, which the Air Force provided to Task & Purpose. His duty station is listed as Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, when he allegedly leaked classified documents in a chat group for video game enthusiasts that he oversaw called “Thug Shaker Central.”