Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in Boston federal court for leaking classified military documents on Discord, according to the Washington Post.
Teixeira appeared in court earlier today and asked the judge for leniency. He also issued a statement apologizing for “any harm I have caused to my friends, family, and people overseas.”
Defense attorney Michael Bachrach also argued that Teixeira’s experiences with bullying at high school and in his unit played a role in his actions. Judge Indira Talwani argued that the Air Force had already disciplined 15 other service members associated with Teixeira for failing to take further action “that might have prevented his conduct.” did not accept the bullying claims.
Teixeira shared classified military documents dating back to late 2022 on a Discord server dedicated to the pixelated sandbox game Minecraft. The leaks included information about Ukrainian and Russian troop movements and military equipment used in the Ukraine war, as well as Russian attempts to obtain more weapons from Egypt and Turkey. The document eventually reached other Discord servers as well as 4chan and Telegram.
FBI officials arrested Teixeira at his home last April. Teixeira originally agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors in March, pleading guilty to six counts of knowingly retaining and transmitting national defense information and facing a 16-year prison sentence for violating the Espionage Act. If Teixeira maintains his innocence and is found guilty, he faces an even harsher sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
