US airman sentenced to 15 years in prison

Jack Teixeira, a US Air National Guard soldier who leaked Pentagon documents last year in one of the most high-profile intelligence cases in recent years, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Teixeira, 22, pleaded guilty in March to intentionally storing and disclosing national defense information.

While working at an Air National Guard base, Teixeira obtained materials such as maps, satellite images and information about U.S. allies, then published those documents on an online platform popular with gamers.

Among the documents he passed on were classified information about the war in Ukraine.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to impose a 16.5-year sentence on Teixeira. His defense lawyers called for an eleven-year prison sentence.

In their request for a lighter sentence, Teixeira’s lawyers argued in court documents that the airman was the target of bullying during his school years and his military unit and that he suffered from isolation.

Meanwhile, prosecutors argued for a longer sentence, saying the airman “committed one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history.”

“Teixeira was aware of the danger to his country and did it anyway,” prosecutors told Judge Talwani on Tuesday.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Talwani told Teixeira: “You are young and have a future ahead of you, but it is such a serious crime.”

Teixeira apologized in court and said he understood that “all responsibility and consequences rest solely on my shoulders,” according to reporters in the Boston court.

Teixeira started in late 2022 with a small group of gun and military enthusiasts on a Discord server or chat room. While the documents initially remained in this chat room, the information was later re-shared on additional public channels.

The documents were later picked up by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and military bloggers.

Teixeira enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, a U.S. Air Force reserve, in 2019. In this role he had a top secret security clearance.

To obtain that release, Teixeira signed a “lifetime nondisclosure agreement” acknowledging that “unauthorized disclosure of protected information could result in criminal penalties,” court documents say.

Teixeira’s leak prompted the Pentagon to review its systems for handling classified information.

This is a developing story and will be updated