The Massachusetts Air National Guard member who is accused of sharing sensitive military secrets has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Jack Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, appeared in federal court in Worcester Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to all six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense a federal grand jury leveled against him six days before.
Teixeira was walked into Courtroom One right on time, 3:45 p.m., and offered his family seated in the front left benches a sustained smile, with a quick glance toward the media on the other side of the courtroom, as he was uncuffed. His attorneys waived a reading of his indictment.
When U.S. District Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy asked if Teixeira understood that he had a right to remain silent, the defendant stooped to the microphone and said, “Yes, your honor.”
Teixeira now has three attorneys with the addition earlier this month of Manhattan-based Michael Bachrach, an attorney noted for “winning 284 counts of acquittal for Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first and thus far only Guantanamo Bay detainee to be transferred to civilian custody for trial,” according to his website.
Backrach was appointed to Teixeira’s case because he already has experience and clearance for reviewing classified documents.
The other two defense attorneys, Brendan Kelley and Allen Franco, are both of the Federal Public Defender Office in Boston. They have not yet received the top-secret security clearance necessary to review the documents Teixeira allegedly leaked online to a group of video gamers, but Kelly said that to his understanding, the security clearance request is being expedited.
Kelly also asked that Hennessy reconsider Teixeira’s detainment, but Hennessy reiterated his earlier arguments that the indictment and its implications could be attractive to foreign governments and that nothing has occurred that changes his mind.
Teixeira — who became a guardsman in 2019 and has held top-secret security clearance since 2021 — is the leader of a Discord server, which is what the gaming-dominated social media platform calls individual groups or forums, with about 50 members. The feds allege that in this group he posted more than 40 images of classified documents. The images were said to have been posted to the group between December 2022 and March.
“Jack Teixeira was entrusted by the United States government with access to classified national defense information — including information that reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland when the indictment was returned.
“Teixeira is charged with sharing information with users on a social media platform he knew were not entitled to receive it. In doing so, he is alleged to have violated U.S. law and endangered our national security,” he added.
This is a developing story.
