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21-year-old suspect in Pentagon leaks to make first appearance in federal court
21-year-old Jack Teixeira will make his first appearance in a Boston federal court today following his arrest yesterday in North Dighton, Massachusetts, by a handful of FBI agents.
Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts air national guard, is accused of leaking sensitive documents pertaining to US intelligence and other countries. The leaked documents included revelations on Ukraine’s air defenses, South Korea and its ammunition concerns, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, as well as Chinese interests in Nicaragua and a Russian Arctic struggle.
The Pentagon has labeled the leaks as a “deliberate, criminal act”. Meanwhile, US attorney Merrick Garland described Teixeira’s arrest as “in connection with an investigation into an alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”.
Garland’s language suggests that Teixeira may likely face charges under the Espionage Act. Under the act, each charge can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence.
The leaks are believed to have started on Discord, a popular social media platform among the gaming community. The Discord chat group which Teixeira is alleged to be part of, Thug Shaker Central, includes 20 to 30 young men and teenagers who post about guns, racist memes and video games. According to group members, the documents were shared in an apparent attempt to impress the group.
Teixeira was in the 102nd intelligence wing of the Massachusetts air national guard and had the duty title “cyber transport systems journeyman”, which involved maintaining functional internet at the airbases.
Earlier this week, president Joe Biden addressed the leaks during his visit to Ireland, saying:
“I’m not concerned about the leak … I’m concerned that it happened. But there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that’s of great consequence.”
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Jack Teixeira will appear in federal court in Boston at 10am today, the US attorney’s office in the district of Massachusetts announced on Twitter.
#BREAKING Jack Teixeira will appear in federal court in Boston at 10am today in courtroom 18.
— U.S. Attorney Massachusetts (@DMAnews1) April 14, 2023Teixeira will make his appearance in front of magistrate judge David Hennessy, the clerk of the district court in Massachusetts told CNN.
21-year-old suspect in Pentagon leaks to make first appearance in federal court
21-year-old Jack Teixeira will make his first appearance in a Boston federal court today following his arrest yesterday in North Dighton, Massachusetts, by a handful of FBI agents.
Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts air national guard, is accused of leaking sensitive documents pertaining to US intelligence and other countries. The leaked documents included revelations on Ukraine’s air defenses, South Korea and its ammunition concerns, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, as well as Chinese interests in Nicaragua and a Russian Arctic struggle.
The Pentagon has labeled the leaks as a “deliberate, criminal act”. Meanwhile, US attorney Merrick Garland described Teixeira’s arrest as “in connection with an investigation into an alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”.
Garland’s language suggests that Teixeira may likely face charges under the Espionage Act. Under the act, each charge can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence.
The leaks are believed to have started on Discord, a popular social media platform among the gaming community. The Discord chat group which Teixeira is alleged to be part of, Thug Shaker Central, includes 20 to 30 young men and teenagers who post about guns, racist memes and video games. According to group members, the documents were shared in an apparent attempt to impress the group.
Teixeira was in the 102nd intelligence wing of the Massachusetts air national guard and had the duty title “cyber transport systems journeyman”, which involved maintaining functional internet at the airbases.
Earlier this week, president Joe Biden addressed the leaks during his visit to Ireland, saying:
“I’m not concerned about the leak … I’m concerned that it happened. But there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that’s of great consequence.”
Suspect in Pentagon leaks to appear in court today
Good morning, US politics readers. The 21-year old suspect involved in the Pentagon leaks is expected to make his first court appearance in Boston today.
Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts air national guard, was arrested yesterday by a team of FBI agents in North Dighton, Massachusetts. Teixeira is accused of leaking sensitive documents pertaining to US intelligence and other countries. US attorney general Merrick Garland said yesterday that Teixeira was taken into custody “in connection with an investigation into an alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”.
The leak, which has been described by the Pentagon as a “deliberate, criminal act” is believed to have started on Discord, a social media platform popular among the online gaming community.
The Discord chat group Teixeira is believed to be a part of is called Thug Shaker Central and includes 20 to 30 young men and teenagers who post about guns, racist memes and video games. Group members have told media outlets that the documents were merely shared in an apparent attempt to impress the group.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill approving a six-week abortion ban in the state, which currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.
Supreme court justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose a real estate deal he made in 2014 with Republican billionaire megadonor Harlan Crow, ProPublica reports.
The brain of the Louisville gunman who killed five people earlier this week will be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative brain disease, his family told CNN.
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