The Massachusetts Air National Guard member indicted for allegedly leaking classified documents on social media pleaded not guilty to six charges in a hearing Wednesday.
Jack Teixeira was arrested in April and indicted on June 15th. He is accused of six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Teixeira has been in custody since his arrest. He appeared at the Wednesday hearing in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit. A judge ruled in May that he would be kept in jail while the case proceeds, because he presents a flight or obstruction risk.
"The important thing is Jack will now have his day in court," the Teixeira family said in a statement. "We are hopeful that Jack will be getting the fair and just treatment he deserves."
Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira indicted
Teixeira was indicted on six counts for retaining and transmitting national defense information.
Teixeira is accused of sharing documents that dealt with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Authorities say Teixeira shared text content and later photographs with users on the gaming platform Discord. Some of the documents he shared allegedly bore SECRET and TOP SECRET classification markings.
Prosecutors also allege Teixeira continued to share classified information even after superiors warned him about mishandling the information.
Attorney General Merrick Garland warned that Teixeira had access to information "that reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if shared."
