Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member who leaked highly classified documents about the war in Ukraine in a Discord chatroom, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges at his court-martial on March 13.
The prosecution argued before Judge Vicki Marcus that Teixeira was intent on obstructing the FBI’s investigation and was scared because he knew he had done something wrong.
Teixeira took a plea deal, admitting that he destroyed a cellphone, computer hard drive, and an iPad with a hammer after seeing news reports about the leaked documents and that he told his friends to destroy messages they exchanged on a communication app.
“I was scared about a potential law enforcement investigation into me and my friends,” he said in court.
Marcus sentenced him to dishonorable discharge with no extra jail time than what he is currently serving. Prosecutors also requested a written reprimand and a demotion of rank, but she denied them.
“There was a piece of it where we said we need a military punishment as well, and that is why the dishonorable discharge was important to us as an institution to tell our airmen, to tell the civilians and Americans we take this very seriously,” Lt. Col. Peter Havern said after the court-martial, according to the Associated Press. “We are going to make sure your military record reflects it for these actions. We are not just going to rely on a civil conviction.”
The 23-year-old, whose role was described as an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks, used his court martial to say that he knew the actions were illegal and acted as a “proud patriot” who was “exposing and correcting the lies perpetuated by the Biden administration” by bringing the truth to light.
“If I saved one American, Russian, or Ukrainian life in this money-grabbing war, my punishment was worth it,” he said, adding later that he was comfortable with how history would remember his actions.
During the court-martial, he alleged he was a victim of a weaponized Department of Justice and called upon the Trump administration to “review my double prosecution and punishments with an eye towards reversing deep-state actions and showing truth.”
Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Nov. 12, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani for leaking classified U.S. military documents about the Ukraine war after agreeing to plead guilty in March 2024 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.
At the time, he apologized for the actions in his statements.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Texeira said.
“I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring.”
He was also described by his attorneys as being autistic and isolating, a person who spent most of his time online and never meant to “harm the United States.” Prosecutors doubted his mental diagnosis.
His leaks exposed secret assessments of different aspects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including troop movement and supplies, as well as assessments of Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
