Alleged Mass. military leaker was on moms porch reading Bible when FBI agents came to arrest him – MassLive.com

Jack Teixeira knew the FBI was closing in.

Two reporters from The New York Times showed up in his mothers driveway earlier this month. They publicly accused him of leaking national security records he allegedly accessed as an entry-level computer tech with the Air National Guard in Otis. When agents showed up on April 13, the 21-year-old was on his mothers front porch in a pair of shorts.

He didnt run away. He sat on his mothers porch reading the Bible, defense lawyer Brendan P. Kelley to a federal magistrate judge Thursday during a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Worcester.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, has been charged under the National Espionage Act after authorities discovered he had allegedly been sharing top-secret documents on social media platforms with fellow video gaming enthusiasts. Most were focused on U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to prosecutors.

Isnt that s--t classified? one user asked, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini told the judge, quoting one of Teixeiras alleged online exchanges. Everything is that Ive been telling people up to this point. LOL.

Teixeira has not yet entered a plea. He also may face prosecution by the Pentagon, lawyers said in court.

Facing a courtroom packed with media and law enforcement, Teixeira entered in handcuffs and orange jail garb emblazoned with the acronym for the Plymouth County Correctional Facility on the back. He flashed a brief grin over his shoulder at his parents and other family members attending the hearing, looking nothing like the vision of a man involved in international espionage.

In fact, his bedroom at his mothers house was filled with Legos and toy guns, in addition to some real firearms he had locked away in a safe, Kelley told U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, who took the matter of pretrial bail under advisement.

While Teixeira did not speak during the hearing, his father took the witness stand to explain the lengths he was willing to go to supervise his son at his home, should the younger Teixeira be released.

You called out that you loved him, which is understandable, Kelley said, referring to the defendants initial appearance in Boston. Are you comfortable reporting any problems to probation?

My son is well aware that if he is released and he does anything against probation, I have told him Id have to report him, said Jack Michael Teixeira, a former corrections officer at Bridgewater State Hospital.

The elder Teixeira said he has cameras inside and outside his house he can access constantly through an app on his phone while he is at work, is willing to relinquish his own firearms and even get rid of his smart TV if need be. Both he and his ex-wife said they would also be willing to put their homes up as collateral if Hennessy ultimately grants bail for their son.

In a memo filed hours before the detention hearing, prosecutors painted a disturbing picture of the defendant that included a history of saying violent, racist things that earned him a suspension while a sophomore in high school.

Kelley argued the suspension was merely a reflection of the poor choices of a teen boy.

Young adults in their late teens or early 20s are not usually their best selves, he told the judge.

In addition to that incident, Pellegrini told Hennessy Teixeira did other searches using his security clearance that had nothing to do with his job. The searches included Ruby Ridge, Las Vegas shooting and Uvalde. The last being a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School Texas, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student, fatally shot 19 students and two teachers.

Pellegrini argued the sum of the alleged evidence against the guardsman amounted to more than youthful braggadocio.

This is not speculative. This is not hyperbole, The chief of the National Security Unit for the U.S. Attorneys Office told Hennessy, adding that Teixeira accessed far more than he posted online.

Pellegrini also raised the possibility of foreign governments being interested in providing a haven for Teixeira should he be released. She cited the case of Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency who leaked classified documents in 2013, then sought refuge in Moscow.

Kelley countered that the notion of having foreign government officials whisk him away from his lifelong home was farfetched.

You have a young man before you who didnt flee, and has nowhere to flee, the defense attorney said.

The scandal also had a ripple effect at his former post. The commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron where Teixeira worked was suspended, officials have said. Others were stripped of their security clearances.

See the rest here:
Alleged Mass. military leaker was on moms porch reading Bible when FBI agents came to arrest him - MassLive.com