U.S. prosecutors are requesting a nearly 17-year prison sentence for Jack Douglas Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking classified military documents.
They describe his actions as “one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”
Teixeira, 22, was arrested in April 2023 after authorities discovered that he had posted classified national defense information on the social media platform Discord.
The leak exposed secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops.
Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Prosecutors argue that he “violated his oath, almost every day, for over a year,” causing “exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States.”
In response, Teixeira’s defense attorneys are asking for an 11-year sentence, highlighting his struggles.
In their sentencing memorandum, they argue that Teixeira was a young, socially awkward individual who turned to an online community for connection.
“[Jack] is autistic and was isolated. His world was online—playing video games, posting memes, making deep friendships he could never make in high school,” the defense wrote.
“He had just turned 20 years old when he began sharing classified information with his friends on Discord and was still only 21 when he was arrested. His intent was never to harm the United States. Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation.”
The defense memorandum claims that Teixeira struggled with social interactions and relied on online communities for companionship. It portrays him as a young man with significant limitations in social development who became obsessed with sharing what he believed was important information about world events, particularly the war in Ukraine.
“Emotionally, Jack was and is severely stunted by his disabilities; barely older than his teenage friends, he made a terrible decision, which he repeated over 14 months,” the defense stated.
They also said Teixeira has “thoroughly accepted responsibility for the wrongfulness of his actions,” noting that he participated in a debriefing with the Intelligence Community and expressed a willingness to answer any additional questions about his conduct.
However, prosecutors reject the defense’s arguments, saying that Teixeira “does not suffer from an intellectual disability that prevents him from knowing right from wrong.” They emphasize that he “knew he was violating federal law when he posted classified national defense information on Discord.”
Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest and that authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop, and Xbox gaming console in the garbage at his house.
“Whatever developmental or social difficulties Teixeira may have experienced, his decision to illegally disclose national defense information and put the lives of other people at risk was a volitional choice that he made knowingly, willfully, and with full awareness of the consequences time and time again,” prosecutors wrote.
