Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air Force National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of secret documents online, will remain in prison pending his trial because he poses a continuing threat to national security and public safety, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Friday.
The judge, David H. Hennessy, cited Airman Teixeira’s history of seeking out and posting classified intelligence materials in defiance of his superiors at an Air Force base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in denying his request to be released on bond into the custody of his father.
Airman Teixeira’s actions were “a profound breach” of his vow to protect sensitive information when he received his security clearance, Judge Hennessy said during a 45-minute hearing at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. His ruling came after the government said the airman continued to have access to sensitive intelligence months after his superiors noted his suspicious behavior.
“Who did he put at risk?” Judge Hennessy said, after the defense team played down the possibility he would leak new information. “I mean, you could make a list as long as a phone book.”
Airman Teixeira, wearing an orange prison uniform and sporting a buzz cut, seemed to be in an upbeat mood when he entered the courtroom, smiling and greeting his family. But his demeanor appeared to darken after the magistrate made his ruling, and he left the hearing with a somber, glassy-eyed expression.
The decision was a victory for the government, which is seeking to send the strongest possible message to potential leakers after a humiliating disclosure of national security secrets that appears to have been pulled off by a boastful young man trying to impress his online friends.
The government had also argued that it was too dangerous to release Airman Teixeira into his community outside Boston, presenting evidence that he had made racist and violent threats. A review of thousands of posts on the social media platform Discord this month by The New York Times revealed that the airman had expressed fascination with mass shootings, conspiracy theories and weapons.
The judge said he believed the airman, who was found with a small arsenal of handguns and semiautomatic rifles near his bed at his home, had an “unhealthy fascination” with firearms, as expressed in his writings and posts.
“The danger he poses to the community is a grave one,” Judge Hennessy added.
Airman Teixeira’s two court-appointed lawyers, who had argued unsuccessfully that he posed a minimal risk if released, did not respond to questions from reporters.
Airman Teixeira’s family expressed disappointment with the ruling. “Jack’s well-being and safety is our priority right now,” the family wrote in an email sent by a spokeswoman. “As a family, we are as committed as ever and remain steadfast and determined in our complete support of Jack as we continue to wade through this process.”
The judge expressed disgust at Airman Teixeira’s disclosure of national security secrets, and said it was plausible that he might divulge additional intelligence to foreign governments in the future. But he also displayed sympathy, even admiration, for Airman Teixeira’s parents for standing by their son and offering to leverage their financial future to pay for his release.
“His family ties, in my sense, are remarkable,” Judge Hennessy added.
Federal prosecutors disclosed late Wednesday that the airman’s superiors had missed opportunities to limit his access to the secrets about the Ukraine war he brazenly shared with people from around the world who subscribed to three chat groups on Discord.
Air Force officials caught Airman Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material months before he was charged with leaking a vast trove of government secrets, but did not remove him from his job, according to a court filing.
On two occasions in September and October 2022, Airman Teixeira’s superiors in the Massachusetts Air National Guard admonished him after reports that he had taken “concerning actions” while handling classified information.
Those included stuffing a note into his pocket after reviewing secret information inside his unit, according to the court filing.
The airman’s superiors also ordered him to “cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information,” although it is not clear how, or if, they enforced that directive.
In a third incident earlier this year, one of his superiors urged him “to focus on his own career duties and not to seek out intelligence products.”
Two of Airman Teixeira’s superiors at the 102nd Intelligence Wing on Cape Cod have been suspended pending completion of an internal investigation by the Air Force inspector general, said a spokeswoman for the service, Ann Stefanek. Their access to classified information has been temporarily blocked, she added.
Now that Airman Teixeira has been ordered detained, his case will most likely be assigned to a different federal judge, in Boston. There remains a remote possibility that lawyers with the Justice Department’s national security division will request the case be moved to a court in Northern Virginia, which includes the Pentagon, but that is increasingly unlikely, people with knowledge of the situation said.
The next major step is likely to be the filing of a grand jury indictment, which would include a much more detailed narrative of the allegations against Airman Teixeira, including an accounting of the charges he will face. Prosecutors have already suggested the charges could result in a prison sentence of at least 25 years.
