Jack Teixeira, the US serviceman suspected of leaking classified US documents, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal criminal charges.
On June 15, the Justice Department said in a statement that Teixeira, a 21-year-old Portuguese descendant who was a member of the National Guard, faces six counts of “withholding and intentional transmission of classified national defense-related information.” “. “.
Each charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Handcuffed and dressed in an orange prison uniform, Teixeira smiled at the family present at the hearing that took place in the federal court of Worcester, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having pleaded not guilty after the judge read each accusation.
The judge also rejected a defense request to reconsider his preventive detention.
Teixeira’s family stressed, in a statement released this Wednesday before the hearing, that “they remain committed as always” to supporting him and hoping that he receives “the fair treatment he deserves.”
Jack Teixeira has been detained since April and last month a judge decided to keep the soldier in custody pending trial, saying releasing him would pose a flight risk or obstruction of justice.
The Portuguese descendant is accused of having distributed confidential defense documents in a discussion forum on the social network Discord, specifically about the war in Ukraine or spying on allied countries, leaks that embarrassed Washington.
Teixeira joined the National Guard in September 2019 and has been authorized to access top-secret information since 2021.
The Department of Justice estimates that Teixeira began saving and sharing confidential data in January 2022, disseminating the information in two ways: in writing through that platform, or with images of the documents in which the secret classification could be read. or top secret.
Some analysts have compared the potential impact of this information leak with that caused in 2013 by Edward Snowden, when he exposed the scope of the massive espionage programs that the United States launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Source: TSF
