Alleged publication of leaked material
|
Main article: 2023 Pentagon document leaks |
In early April 2023, Teixeira was alleged by media to have regularly shared classified information in a chat group called "Thug Shaker Central" on the online chat service Discord,[18][19] beginning at least by October 2022, both transcribed from documents he read and from printouts removed from his office on base.[20][21][7] Chatroom members reportedly talked about and played video games together;[22] according to The New York Times, Teixeira was identified as the chatroom administrator.[7] Reports of the chat group size vary, between about two dozen and about fifty members.[23][22][17]
On February 28, 2023, a chat group member is alleged to have posted dozens of pictures of classified documents to another Discord server.[23] From there, someone else alleges they posted images found on that server to a Discord server associated with the Minecraft video game.[23] After classified documents began appearing on Russian-language Telegram channels, The New York Times first reported on the leak.[3] On April 21, The New York Times reported that a Discord account with similar characteristics as the online profile of Teixeira had shared written summaries of classified information and likely shared photographs of documents to a Discord chat group with about 600 members from about February 2022 until about March 2023.[17]
Arrest and prosecution
On the morning of April 13, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Teixeira at his home in Dighton,[10] where Teixeira lived with his mother and stepfather.[24] Next to his bed, investigators found Teixeira's stockpile of weapons, including handguns, shotguns, bolt-action rifles, an AK-style rifle with high-capacity magazine, a gas mask, and other weapons.[24]
The next day, Teixeira made his first appearance at the U.S. District Court in Boston before a U.S. magistrate judge, and the formal charging document was unsealed.[25][26] He was charged with two offenses: (1) violating the Espionage Act of 1917 by retaining and transmitting national defense information without authorization and (2) unauthorized removal and retention of classified information.[26][25] The first charge has a maximum prison sentence of ten years; the second charge, a maximum of five years.[27][28] A supporting affidavit from a FBI Counterintelligence Division special agent was attached to the criminal complaint.[29]
Teixeira is represented by counsel from the federal public defender's office.[30] In advance of an April 27 detention hearing,[a] the prosecution and defense filed memos with the court. The prosecution advocated ongoing detention without bond, arguing that Teixeira posed a "serious flight risk"; the prosecution's memo alleged Teixeira had attempted to obstruct the federal investigation by destroying evidence, such as by smashing and dumping electronic equipment; might still possess secret information of "tremendous value to hostile nation states"; and had a disturbing record of making racist and violent comments.[24][32][33] In response, the defense argued that Teixeira was not a flight risk and should be released to the custody of his family on a $20,000 bond with conditions.[24][33] The U.S. magistrate judge has not yet issued a decision on detention,[24][34] and Teixeira has not entered a plea.[31]
