Jack Teixeira Sentenced to 15 Years in Leaked Documents Case

The disclosures that Jack Teixeira shared on a social media platform raised questions over how a relatively low-ranking Air National Guardsman had access to some of the country’s most sensitive secrets.

Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of sharing classified government records online, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison for one of the most damaging national security leaks in history.

“You are young and you have a future ahead of you, but it is such a serious crime,” the judge, Indira Talwani of Federal District Court in Massachusetts, told Airman Teixeira, who is 22.

The sentencing brings to an end a case that raised questions over how easily a relatively low-level member of the guard had obtained a top-secret clearance that gave him access to some of the country’s most sensitive secrets.

Airman Teixeira, who served as an information technology specialist at an air base on Cape Cod, shared the classified material that he had obtained on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers. At one point, he acknowledged he had disclosed material that “I’m not supposed to.”

Among Airman Teixeira’s disclosures were details about supplying equipment to Ukraine, including how it would be transported and used. He posted a report on Russian and Ukrainian troop movements that American officials said might have compromised how the United States gathers intelligence.

Shortly before his arrest, a friend told him that some of the disclosures were being shared on a pro-Russian Telegram channel, according to court documents. Airman Teixeira then asked his contact to delete his messages.

An assistant U.S. attorney, arguing that the airman face a term of just under 17 years, pointed to the fallout of the leak. “The damage he caused is historic,” the prosecutor, Jared Dolan, said, later adding, “His conduct and his offenses are unparalleled in breadth, in depth and in quality of the information.”

Airman Teixeira’s lawyer, Michael K. Bachrach, asserted that the sentence should be 11 years, saying that a longer sentence inflicted considerable harm to someone as young as his client. His client, he added, had autism, which contributed to poor decision making.

The airman apologized for the wide-ranging leak. “I’m sorry for all the harm that I’ve wrought and that I’ve caused,” he said. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences falls on my shoulders alone. And I accept whatever that may bring.”

As he left the courtroom, he nodded to his family and said, “See you later.”

Airman Teixeira was arrested at his mother’s house in North Dighton, Mass., in April 2023. He has been held without bail since.

After initially pleading not guilty, Airman Teixeira switched course in March and agreed to plead guilty to six counts of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information” under the Espionage Act.

Airman Teixeira’s lawyers argued that an expert diagnosed him with a type of autism, a condition that they said caused him to make poor decisions, like sharing classified information online.

Mr. Bachrach said his client shared sensitive details with his online friends because he did not have a similar community at work.

The argument did not sway the judge or the prosecution.

Judge Talwani said that the airman’s inability to make friends “doesn’t minimize the offense of taking this information and putting it on the web.”

Mr. Dolan contended that Airman Teixeira had acted of his own volition, recognizing that he was disseminating classified information.

“The defendant understood what he was doing was wrong,” Mr. Dolan said. “He had the ability to make a different choice.” Mr. Dolan’s boss, Joshua Levy, the U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said the extent of Airman Teixeira’s damage would not be clear for several years.

According to a New York Times investigation of more than 9,500 of his messages, Airman Teixeira was particularly fixated on weapons, mass shootings and conspiracy theories. He routinely displayed disdain toward the government, accusing it of a number of nefarious activities, including by orchestrating mass shootings.

Prosecutors have said that they found no evidence that Airman Teixeira was engaged in espionage, making his case different from traditional spying cases. Instead, he posted the information to feed his ego and impress anonymous friends, they said.

They compared Airman Teixeira’s case with that of a former C.I.A. computer engineer who stole classified information and shared it with WikiLeaks. He was sentenced in February to 40 years in prison.

Mr. Dolan said the airman’s actions should serve as a “cautionary tale for the men and women of the U.S. government and clearance holders.”

He added, “They will be told this is what happens if you betray your promise.”

His family and lawyers blamed a “lackadaisical work atmosphere” on his ability to retrieve and post some of the government’s most closely held secrets.

“This behavior is explained by his autism,” Mr. Bachrach said in court. “And it is also explained by his lack of appropriate supervision.”

Since Airman Teixeira’s arrest, the Defense Department has taken steps to prevent a similar breach in the future, including tightening the controls on who has access to classified information.

“The department is confident that the appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate additional leaks,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday.

Airman Teixeira is set to face a military court-martial in the spring, which could determine whether he is dishonorably discharged from the Air National Guard or faces additional punishments.

John Ismay and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

• Blinken Visits NATO: Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited NATO headquarters in Brussels as Europe braces for the anticipated upheaval of a new Trump era in Washington.
• Russian Doctor Is Jailed: A Russian doctor was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on accusations that she told a young boy that his father, who was killed while fighting in Ukraine, deserved to die.
• Amassing Troops: The Russian military has assembled a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, as it prepares for a counteroffensive to reclaim territory seized by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, according to U.S. officials.

How We Verify Our Reporting

• Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs, videos and radio transmissions to independently confirm troop movements and other details.
• We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts.