A federal judge sentenced Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking classified U.S. military assessments about the war in Ukraine.
Teixeira, 22, agreed to plead guilty in March to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Department of Justice agreed to not charge Teixeira with Espionage Act violations. The plea agreement stipulated that Teixeira be imprisoned for between 11 years and 16 years and eight months, pay a $50,000 fine, and serve 36 months of supervised release following his prison term.
Judge Indira Talwani issued the 15-year sentence at a Nov. 12 court hearing.
Teixeira offered an apology before being sentenced.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Texeira said.
“I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring,” he added.
Prior to his sentencing, Teixeira’s attorneys described him as an autistic and isolated individual who spent most of his time online.
They said his actions, though criminal, were never meant to “harm the United States.”
Prosecutors countered that Teixeira didn’t suffer from any intellectual disability that would prevent him from knowing right from wrong. Prosecutors said Teixeira’s post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism was of “questionable relevance” to the proceedings.
Teixeira’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times following the sentencing decision.
Investigators said Teixeira first typed out classified documents he had accessed and then began taking photographs of the files, which bore “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” markings.
The documents eventually found their way to a Discord server, and then other platforms such as X, Telegram, and the 4Chan message board website.
Some of the documents posted online appeared to describe military equipment donated to Ukraine’s military by the United States and other nations. Other documents appeared to reference training timelines for Ukrainian forces and casualty assessments and equipment losses in its war with Russia.
The leak roiled U.S. efforts to bolster Ukraine. The Pentagon has taken some steps since the incident to tighten control over classified information.
Under the military justice system, Teixeira faces additional charges for defying lawful military orders and obstructing the initial leak investigation.
