April 14, 2023 Suspect charged in US classified documents leak case

The US intelligence leaks suspect was concerned about getting caught transcribing documents at work, so he started taking them home, a member of his online chat group told the FBI, according to court documents.

Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, 21, is suspected of posting the leaks. Investigators did not name the group member the FBI interviewed in the affidavit.

Teixeira, "began taking the documents to his residence and photographing them" due to his concern about getting caught, the group member told investigators, according to the court document.

The leaks included photos of crumpled documents lying on top of magazines and surrounded by other random objects, such as zip-close bags and Gorilla Glue, CNN has previously reported.

The documents looked as if they had been hastily folded up and shoved into a pocket before being removed from a secure location, a source familiar with these kinds of documents told CNN.

Document leaks suspect Jack Teixeira is believed to be the head of obscure invite-only Discord chatroom called Thug Shaker Central, multiple US officials told CNN, where information from the classified documents was first posted months ago.

Four Discord users active in a different Discord chatroom where the documents later appeared told CNN the documents began circulating on Thug Shaker. Another user who was in the Thug Shaker chatroom told CNN they saw the original posts of classified documents but declined to speak further about them.

Investigators alleged that a US government agency with the ability to monitor "certain searches conducted on its classified networks" found that documents leaks suspect Jack Teixeira searched for the word "leak" on his government-issued computer.

One week before his arrest, 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Teixeira "used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word 'leak,'" according to an affidavit.

That search led investigators to believe that Teixeira was looking for the intelligence community’s assessment of who had leaked the classified documents online.

Intelligence leaks suspect Jack Teixeira allegedly began posting classified documents online around December 2022, according to an affidavit submitted by investigators.

The 21-year-old has held a Top Secret clearance through his IT role with the Air National Guard since 2021, according to the court document. At least one of the documents shared online was accessible to him by virtue of his employment as a guard member, the affidavit says.

He also “maintained sensitive compartmented access (SCI) to other highly classified programs,” the affidavit says.

Many of the leaked documents tied to Teixeira's case, which were posted on the online server Discord, were marked Top Secret, according to US officials.

During the short hearing, Jack Teixeira was informed that he is facing two charges for allegedly posting classified documents online. 

The two charges are unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, according to court documents. 

The judge scheduled a detention hearing for Teixeira on Wednesday. He will remain detained until then. Teixeira did not enter a formal plea. 

Teixeira spoke quietly during the hearing, whispering "yes" as the judge informed him of his rights as a criminal defendant. 

As the hearing ended, a man in the courtroom shouted, "love you, Jack." Teixeira did not look back, but responded, "you too, dad."

Jack Teixeira, the suspect arrested in connection with a massive US classified documents leak, has been charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, as well as unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. 

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly described the charges against the suspect.

Jack Teixeira, the suspect arrested in connection with the leaking of classified documents, has entered a Boston courtroom for his first court appearance.

He is appearing in front of Magistrate Judge David Hennessy in Boston, the clerk of the District Court in Massachusetts told CNN.

The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman entered the courtroom wearing a tan shirt and pants from the detention center, as well as hiking boots. He walked in to the room in shackles, though his hands were uncuffed before he sat down at the defense table. 

Nadine Pellegrini, the chief of the National Security Unit for the District of Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office, is sitting at the prosecution table. 

The Boston courtroom is entirely full, including three people sitting on bench reserved for family. When Teixeira entered the courtroom, he did not look at the members sitting there.

Jack Teixeira, the suspect arrested in connection with the leaking of classified information, is making his first court appearance this morning in front of Magistrate Judge David Hennessy in Boston, the clerk of the District Court in Massachusetts told CNN.

Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is believed to be the leader of the group where a trove of classified documents had been posted online, multiple US officials told CNN.

Discord, the social platform where classified documents were first posted, said it is cooperating with the FBI investigation following the arrest of a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman in connection with the leaks.

Jack Teixeira, 21, is believed to be the leader of a Discord chat group where the documents were posted, multiple US officials told CNN.

The spokesperson said that Discord has banned users involved with distribution of the classified information, deleted content against its terms of service and issued warnings to those who continued to share the documents.