JULY 5, 2023:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is announcing its plans for tightening protections of classified information following the explosive leaks of hundreds of intelligence documents that were accessed through security gaps at a Massachusetts Air National Guard base. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has directed that all secure rooms where classified information is stored and accessed get increased levels of physical security, additional controls to ensure documents aren’t improperly removed, and electronic device detection systems. The security upgrades come as a lone airman, Jack Texeira, is accused of leaking highly classified military documents in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers.
MAY 18, 2023:
BOSTON (AP) — Prosecutors say that superiors of the Massachusetts Air National guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information. Justice Department lawyers made the disclosure Wednesday (May 17, 2023) in a court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. Prosecutors say Teixeira continued leaking documents even after he was admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year over “concerning actions” he took related to classified information.
APRIL 27, 2023:
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A judge has put off a decision (April 27, 2023) whether the Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents should be held in jail until his trial. Prosecutors said 21-year-old Jack Teixeira kept an arsenal of weapons and said on social media that he would like to kill a ‘ton of people.” The court filings raise new questions about why Teixeira had such a high security clearance. At the hearing, the judge seemed incredulous about defense arguments that the government has not shown Teixeira ever intended leaked information to be widely disseminated. But he did not make an immediate decision on detention.
APRIL 19, 2023:
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents is due back in court for a hearing to decide whether he should remain behind bars while he awaits trial. Jack Teixeira was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents at his Massachusetts home last week on charges, under the Espionage Act, of unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. During his first court appearance in Boston’s federal court on Friday, a magistrate judge ordered him to remain in custody until Wednesday’s (April 19, 2023) detention hearing. Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord.
APRIL 13, 2023:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who has emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war was taken into custody Thursday (April 13, 2023) by federal agents. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement at the Justice Department Thursday. The guardsman was identified as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira. FBI agents converged Thursday at Teixeira’s Massachusetts home and heavily armed tactical agents took a man wearing a T-shirt and shorts into custody outside the property.
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