Air National Guardsman gets 15 years after splashing classified docs on Discord

A former Air National Guard member who stole classified American military secrets, and showed them to his gaming buddies on Discord, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jack Teixeira, 22, joined the service in September 2019, and until his arrest last year, he served with the 102nd Intelligence Wing as a cyber defense operations journeyman at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts.

After settling into his role, he began to look at material above his intelligence classification grade and then shared it via the chat app. The material included US and NATO plans for supporting Ukraine, information on UK and US personnel helping out the Ukrainians, and details of a Chinese drone program.

"The documents and information Teixeira posted to social media are highly classified and contain vital national defense information," prosecutors wrote [PDF] in a memo to the courts on their preferred sentencing for Teixeira.

"By posting intelligence products on the social media platform Discord to feed his own ego and impress his anonymous friends, Teixeira caused exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States. The scope of his betrayal is breathtaking. The amount of damage he caused is immeasurable."

Teixeira admitted to investigators he viewed and stole secrets during the day by looking up and writing down juicy details and smuggling it off the base to share online. Later he simply printed out classified files using "an isolated and seldom used printer," prosecutors noted.

When not at work, Teixeira was a keen gamer and ran his own Discord server with around 25 members. It was apparently not a terribly fun place to be – the group regularly discussed mass murders, talked about conducting assassinations, and "culling the weak minded," the courts were told. Eventually Teixeira began posting snippets of classified government information as a way of bragging.

He knew this was illegal because, as part of his regular training, he signed various documents stating he understood the rules of classification and the potential penalties. He even joked about it on Discord. On March 15, 2022, an associate of Teixeira asked if he could post information regarding troop losses in Ukraine. Teixeira responded: "If I want to go to jail for the rest of my life, yeah."

When one of the Discord group also brought up his military oath, Teixeira was dismissive, writing: "Not an oath, an NDA … The oath is just the defense of America against all threats and the following of orders," according to testimony from FBI special agent Luke Church.

The game was up when some of the documents started appearing elsewhere online – first in other Discord groups, then 4chan, and then further afield. Worse still, they appeared to have been altered, with one version overstating expected Ukrainian deaths and understating Russian losses.

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As the media seized upon the leaks, Teixeira got nervous. He told everyone to delete any material they had, before shutting down the server and deleting his account. He then smashed his hard drives and other computer equipment – some of which was found in a garbage bin behind his house. His arrest came in April 2023, after Discord handed over his address.

He has since admitted six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense. On Tuesday, a federal court in Boston sentenced the 22-year-old to 15 years in prison, plus three years of probation.

"This sentencing is a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information: betray that trust, and you will be held accountable," declared FBI director Christopher Wray.

"Jack Teixeira's criminal conduct placed our nation, our troops, and our allies at great risk. The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect classified information and ensure that those who turn their backs on their country face justice." ®