A federal judge has decided to keep a US Air Force informatics expert accused of leaking top secret documents in prison pending trial after prosecutors said he posed an existential threat to US national security.
It is believed that Jack Teixeira, 21, a specialist in information technology in the Air National Guard of the US Air Force, orchestrated a leak of classified documents that caused the greatest damage to the United States by publishing a group of very sensitive information in a chat forum on the Internet.
The documents, which later spread quickly on the Internet, indicate US concern about Ukraine’s military capability against invading Russian forces and reveal that Washington spied on its allies Israel and South Korea, among other sensitive details.
Teixeira was brought into the courtroom for this hearing, attended by his father and others, in handcuffs and wearing an orange jumpsuit.
“The evidence supports his detention,” Judge David Hennessy said, noting that “foreign countries knew he had no loyalty to the United States” and “did not care about anyone.”
Prosecutors stated that Teixeira may still be able to access classified documents and that “enemy” countries could help him escape if he was released, noting also that he had a history of making “violent” statements.
For his part, Techira’s defense team said that his client can no longer access confidential materials and that the government exaggerates the description of the threat he poses, stressing that he should be released and placed in the custody of his father pending trial.
