A member of the US Air National Guard was charged Friday with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified military intelligence records online.
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Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old resident of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was arrested by heavily armed FBI agents at his home on Thursday.
Teixeira made his first appearance in a crowded federal court wearing a brown khaki jumpsuit, Reuters reported. During the brief hearing, Boston’s top federal national security prosecutor, Nadine Pellegrini, requested that Teixeira be detained pending trial, and a detention hearing was set for Wednesday.
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The leaked documents are believed to be the most serious U.S. security breach since over 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. The Pentagon has called the leak a “deliberate, criminal act.”
The alleged leak did not come to light until it was reported by the New York Times last week, even though the documents had been posted on a social media website weeks earlier.
US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he had ordered investigators to determine why the alleged leaker had access to the sensitive information, which included records showing purported details of Ukrainian military vulnerabilities and embarrassed Washington by revealing its spying on allies.
Following the hearing, three of Teixeira’s family members left the courthouse, with a group of reporters trailing them for several blocks. They entered a car without making any comments.
Teixeira’s financial affidavit showed he qualified to be represented by a federal public defender, and the judge appointed one for him.
The case has questions about security protocols in place within the U.S. military, and the government’s handling of sensitive information. It also highlights the need for increased cybersecurity measures to prevent future breaches.
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