Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking sensitive and secret government information, is set to face a court-martial March 10, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to Military.com.
The 22-year-old Guardsman pleaded guilty in March to six counts related to leaking highly classified information on Discord — an online platform for gamers — concerning the war in Ukraine and other sensitive defense information as part of a separate federal criminal case. It was announced in May that he could also be facing a military court-martial.
An arraignment hearing in the military case was held Aug. 16, in which Teixeira was read the charges against him and deferred a plea, Air Force spokesperson Rose Riley told Military.com. A subsequent arraignment trial date has tentatively been set for late winter at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
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“The court-martial trial is tentatively scheduled to start on March 10 at Hanscom, depending on proceedings before the trial,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an emailed statement Thursday. “It will likely be confirmed during the arraignment, which is currently scheduled for Jan. 27.”
The charges in the military case included one violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ, specifically Article 92, or disobeying a direct order.
The airman is alleged to have ignored a lawful order to “cease and desist from accessing information not pertaining to his duties” at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, between September 2022 and April 2023.
He also was charged with two specifications for violating Article 131b of the UCMJ, relating to obstructing justice.
Teixeira was alleged to “dispose of an iPad, computer hard drive, and cell phone, with intent to obstruct the due administration of justice in the case of himself” sometime between March 2023 and April 2023, the service detailed. He is also accused of asking “another individual to delete Discord messages” he allegedly sent “with intent to obstruct the due administration of justice in the case of himself.”
Riley said he remains an airman first class in the Air National Guard pending the outcome of the court-martial.
Teixeira was charged and arrested by the federal government in April 2023 and accused of unauthorized retention, removal and transmission of national defense information and classified documents. He allegedly obtained the information while working as cyberdefense airman with the 102nd Intelligence Wing based out of Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
In late 2023, the Air Force said that 15 Air National Guard enlisted troops and officers had been punished and removed from command in connection with the incident, citing a “lack of supervision” that enabled the leaks, Military.com previously reported.
As part of his guilty plea in March as part of the federal case, Teixeira could face anywhere from 11 years to a little more than 16 years in prison. He is set to face sentencing, at which time the specifics of that plea deal will be decided, next month.
Depending on the outcome of that sentencing, Teixeira’s punishment could mark one of the harshest sentences in recent history for violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.
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