Mass. Airman accused of leaking classified docs expected to plead guilty

The Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking top secret government documents online is expected to plead guilty at a federal court hearing next week.

Jack Teixeira, of North Dighton, was arrested last April and charged with six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors on Thursday filed a motion for a hearing that is typically a precursor to a guilty plea.

Through his job at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, Jack Teixeira allegedly accessed classified documents pertaining to the war in Ukraine and U.S. spy operations. He posted them in an online chat group on the platform Discord. Investigators believe he led a private chat group called Thug Shaker Central, where enthusiasts shared jokes, talked about their favorite types of guns and discussed wars, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The documents spread from there to more public sites. It is widely seen as the most significant U.S. intelligence leak in a decade. He has been in custody since his arrest, after the judge in the case ordered him held.

Authorities have provided few details about an alleged possible motive, but accounts of those in the online private chat group where the documents were disclosed have depicted Teixeira as motivated more by bravado than ideology.

The Air Force has investigated and disciplined 15 people in connection with the leak. Teixeira had been previously caught improperly accessing classified information, but was not disciplined.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.