Suspect in Pentagon documents leak pleads not guilty

Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member who is accused of leaking a slew of highly classified documents from the Pentagon online, pleaded not guilty to all the charges he is facing Wednesday. 

Teixeira, 21, entered his not guilty plea to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information in violation, stemming from alleged violations of the Espionage Act, at a hearing in federal court. 

Teixeira has remained in prison since he was arrested in April. He was denied release while awaiting trial last month after a magistrate judge decided he was a flight risk or could obstruct justice in the case. 

A judge also denied a motion from Teixeira’s attorney on Wednesday for the order for him to stay in custody to be reconsidered. The attorney said Teixeira would “answer the charges” and “be judged by his fellow citizens.” 

The leak revealed a wide range of national security information concerning topics including the war between Ukraine and Russia and U.S. relationships with adversaries, such as Iran, and allies, like South Korea. 

Prosecutors say Teixeira leaked the classified military documents on Discord, a social media platform that is commonly used by video game fans. They believe he shared the documents with a private chat group called Thug Shaker Central, starting around January. 

Officials also allege he continued to share government secrets after his superiors warned him against mishandling the information. 

He was formally indicted on the charges last week. 

Teixeira enlisted in the National Guard in 2019 and worked as an information technology specialist focused on military communications networks. 

The Associated Press contributed