Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a trove of classified government documents, was formally charged under the Espionage Act during his initial court appearance in Boston on Friday.
Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman, is facing counts including unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. He did not enter a formal plea.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennesy ordered he remain in custody pending a detention hearing next week.
His court appearance comes less than 24 hours after a horde of heavily armed tactical agents swarmed Teixeira’s home in North Dighton and took him into custody. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirm he was arrested without incident on Thursday for posting “sensitive and highly-classified material” online, specifically to Discord, a social media site popular with gamers.
The documents — which have not been authenticated by the U.S. government — include briefing slides detailing Ukrainian military positions as well as assessments of international support for Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including what circumstances could cause Russian President Vladimir Putin to resort to nuclear weapons.
President Joe Biden said the government was working to determine “the validity” of the leaked material.
According to an FBI affidavit made public on Friday, Teixeira obtained a Top Secret clearance through his IT role with the Air National Guard in 2021.
Investigators believe he was the leader of an online private chat group on Discord, where he posted details from the classified documents starting in December 2022. Authorities were able to track down Teixeira through billing information associated with his account on the platform.
The chat group, nicknamed Thug Shaker Central, boasted roughly two dozen enthusiasts who talked about their favorite types of guns while trading memes and joking around with each other. They dubbed Teixiera “O.G.”
According to the affidavit, Teixeira would initially type out documents in his possession but later began taking them home to photograph them. The switch happened after he became “concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace.”
On April 6, the same day the New York Times first reported the documents, Teixeira used his work computer to search the term “leak” in a classified system. The FBI says that was reason to believe Teixeira was trying to find information about the investigation into who was responsible for the leaks.He is due back in court on Wednesday.