According to recently filed documents on Wednesday night, Jack Teixeira, an airman from the National Guard who is suspected of leaking extensive confidential intelligence documents online, made frantic efforts to conceal any evidence related to the leaks.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the U.S. government classified Teixeira as a flight risk and an ongoing national security threat ahead of his scheduled detention hearing on Thursday. The 18-page document expressed concerns about Teixeira’s potential to violate agreements he had signed to refrain from sharing classified intelligence. It highlighted his efforts to remove any mention of his name from the leaked information online and destroy physical evidence related to his involvement.
The filing reads, “The nature of the materials that the Defendant accessed — not all of which have publicly surfaced — have the capacity to cause additional exceptionally grave damage to the U.S. national security if disclosed. In addition, the Defendant’s troubling history raises serious concerns about what he would do if released into the community.”
NEWS: Jack Teixeira, the low-level IT specialist with high-level security clearance who leaked dozens of sensitive documents, wrote on social media that he wanted to kill a "ton of people" and researched mass shootings online.
Prosecutors are currently arguing that he should not… pic.twitter.com/WEkma8Kp4P
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) April 27, 2023
According to the filed documents, prosecutors expressed concerns that Teixeira might still have access to extremely sensitive information and could potentially continue sharing it online or even trade it with a foreign adversary to facilitate his escape from the country. If found guilty, Teixeira could potentially receive a prison sentence of up to 25 years. The defense attorneys had argued for Teixeira to be allowed to reside in his father’s residence, as indicated by the prosecutors.
The recently filed documents and evidence presented by the FBI agent handling the case reveal Teixeira’s last-minute efforts to evade capture. He became aware that certain pro-Russian Telegram channels had shared photographs that he had initially posted within a private social media group on the Discord platform. In response to this discovery, Teixeira hurriedly took steps to avoid detection.
Discord records obtained by the FBI investigator reveal that on April 7, Teixeira instructed a fellow participant in the original thread where he had been posting the documents for several months to not give anyone any information if they got caught. He went on to urge the person to delete all of his messages in civil discussions, particularly those not within the thread, as soon as possible.
After Teixeira’s arrest, investigators discovered a discarded tablet, laptop and gaming console in a dumpster near his residence. A government filing suggests that this act was deliberate and described it as “calculated to delay or prevent the government from gaining a full understanding of the seriousness and scale of his conduct.”
