Former National Guard airman, Jack Teixeira recently pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him, centering on the massive leak of confidential military documents on Discord, following last year's arrest. This puts to end the case built against him for sharing this sensitive information with his friends on the platform, with his guilty plea targeting a lighter prison sentence.
However, this is still subject to the judge's decision on whether or not the court accepts the deal, with the decision coming later this Fall.
Discord Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Crimes
The New York Times reported that Discord leaker, Jack Teixeira has pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him after being found in possession of confidential military documents and sharing them over the social networking platform. In this guilty plea, Teixeira accepts the deal which would have him serve a reduced sentence and not the full ride of the speculated 25 years for his crimes.
With this deal, Teixeira avoids getting charged with several violations from his actions including the Espionage Act, allegations of unlawful gathering, and unauthorized removal of these confidential military documents.
According to an FBI special agent affidavit, Teixeira got access to these sensitive documents when he was 19 while working as a low-level computer technician at a Massachusetts military base.
Read also: Former NSA Employee Pleads Guilty to Leaking Classified Information to Russia: Details Revealed
Lighter Sentence for Discord Military Documents Leaker?
Texeira's recent plea deal potentially gives him a lighter sentence for his Discord military documents leak, putting the numbers at around 11 years to 16 years and eight months of incarceration only. This deal went after the initial not-guilty plea of Texeira to six counts of "willful retention and transmission of national defense information."
The Infamous Case of Jack Teixeira
Back in April 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the now 22-year-old National Guard airman, Jack Teixeira with his ties to leaking military documents from the Pentagon over Discord. The leak contained confidential information about national security, with at least 300 documents shared on the platform including data behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China, and more.
It was initially claimed that Teixeira violated the Espionage Act with his actions, citing that offenses against this could result in a minimum of 10 years in prison if found guilty.
It was also believed that his actions were a result of impressing his friends on Discord, with some of those parts of this group chat being teenage boys, with the US Department of Defense still looking into how it got into his hands.
The recent trials against Teixeira found that he did not violate the Espionage Act, but still tied him to the crimes of illegally possessing this document, as members of national security agencies have signed a nondisclosure agreement. Instead of the presumpted 25 years in prison, the Discord leaker may only face around 11 to 16 years in prison for his deal which is yet to be signed off by the judge.
