Jack Douglas Teixeira ( ; born December 2001) is an American airman in the

102nd Intelligence Wing The United States Air Force's 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is a military intelligence unit located at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. Its primary subordinate operational unit is the 101st Intell ...

of the

Massachusetts Air National Guard The Massachusetts Air National Guard (MAANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, an element of ...

. In April 2023, following an investigation into the removal and disclosure of hundreds of classified Pentagon documents, Teixeira was arrested by

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agents and charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information in violation of the

Espionage Act of 1917 The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code ( ...

and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. In March 2024, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. On 12 November 2024, Teixeira was sentenced to fifteen years in prison by a federal court in Massachusetts. In March 2025, he was recalled to active duty to separately face charges of violating the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...

in a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

that was convened at Hanscom Air Force Base.

Early life

Teixeira was born in December 2001. Teixeira's stepfather is a retired

master sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. His stepfather and stepbrother worked at

Joint Base Cape Cod The Joint Base Cape Cod is a state-designated joint base created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States War Department in 1935. Governor James Michael Curley, James Curley signed the state bill to allocate and purchase land fo ...

. His mother worked for a non-profit organization that supported military veterans. Teixeira is of Portuguese descent; his grandfather immigrated to the United States from

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; ), nicknamed "The Green Island" (), is the largest and most populous island in the Portugal, Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta D ...

, in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. He graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School in 2020, but missed his graduation ceremony to attend United States Air Force Basic Military Training at

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Career

Upon graduating from high school, Teixeira joined the

of the

as a Cyber Transport Systems journeyman in September 2019. Teixeira was stationed at

Otis Air National Guard Base Otis Air National Guard Base is an Air National Guard installation located within Joint Base Cape Cod, a military training facility located on the western portion of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It was known a ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. In July 2022, Teixeira was promoted to airman first class. Many U.S. military personnel in technology or intelligence positions, even those of relatively low rank, are entrusted with access to

classified information Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

. As part of his job, Teixeira held a

Top Secret Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

. He was also the recipient of an Air Force Achievement Medal.

Publication of leaked material

In early April 2023, Teixeira was alleged by media to have regularly shared classified information in a server on the online chat service

Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...

called "Thug Shaker Central", beginning at least by October 2022, both transcribed from documents he read and from printouts removed from his office on base. Chatroom members reportedly talked about and played video games together; according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Teixeira was identified as the chatroom administrator. Reports of the server's size vary, between about two dozen and about fifty members. On 28 February 2023, a Thug Shaker Central member was alleged to have posted dozens of pictures of classified documents to another Discord server. From there, someone else alleges they posted images found on that server to a Discord server associated with the video game ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

''. After classified documents began appearing on Russian-language

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

channels, ''The New York Times'' first reported on the leak. On 21 April, ''The New York Times'' reported that a Discord account with similar characteristics as the online profile of Teixeira had shared written summaries of classified information and likely shared photographs of documents to a Discord server with about 600 members from about February 2022 until about March 2023.

Arrest and prosecution

On the morning of 13 April 2023, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) arrested Teixeira at his home in Dighton, where Teixeira lived with his mother and stepfather. Next to his bed, investigators found Teixeira's stockpile of weapons, including handguns, shotguns,

bolt-action rifle Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of b ...

s, an AK-style rifle with

high-capacity magazine A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding a higher than normal number of ammunition rounds for a particular firearm (i.e. more than in a standard magazine for that firearm). A magazine may also be def ...

, a gas mask, and other weapons. The next day, Teixeira made his first appearance at the U.S. District Court in Boston before a U.S. magistrate judge, and the formal charging document was unsealed. He was charged with two offenses: (1) violating the

by retaining and transmitting national defense information without authorization and (2) unauthorized removal and retention of classified information. The first charge has a maximum prison sentence of ten years; the second charge, a maximum of five years. A supporting

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

from a FBI Counterintelligence Division special agent was attached to the criminal complaint. Teixeira is represented by counsel from the

federal public defender In the United States, federal Public defender (United States), public defender organizations are entities in the Federal government of the United States, United States Federal Government, and their staffs are federal employees. Federal public defe ...

's office, who requested and received postponement of Teixeira's detention hearing to allow more time to review the case. In advance of a 27 April detention hearing, the prosecution and defense filed memos with the court. The prosecution advocated ongoing detention without bond, arguing that Teixeira posed a "serious flight risk"; the prosecution's memo alleged Teixeira had attempted to obstruct the federal investigation by destroying evidence; might still possess secret information of "tremendous value to hostile nation states"; and had a record of making racist and violent comments, including in late 2022 and early 2023. To support detention without bond, prosecutors also raised an incident from while Teixeira was a high school

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 2018 that resulted in his suspension from school and prevented him from obtaining a gun license until he joined the National Guard. Prosecutors also alleged that Teixeira's supervisors had in September and October 2022 and January 2023 caught him taking notes on classified material or viewing material not needed for his job, and admonished him to "cease and desist". At a 19 May hearing, a judge ruled Teixeira would be held without bail until trial. On 15 June, Teixeira was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

, and he

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

ded not guilty in court on 21 June. On 4 March 2024, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. On 12 November 2024, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In March 2025, he pleaded guilty to military charges of obstructing justice, and was dishonorably discharged.

Personal life

Texeira is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Teixeira, Jack Living people 2001 births 21st-century American military personnel American people of Azorean descent American prisoners and detainees Massachusetts National Guard personnel Military personnel from Massachusetts People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 People from Dighton, Massachusetts Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government United States Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Catholics from Massachusetts