BOSTON — Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in connection to the leak of classified documents, made his first appearance before a federal judge Friday.
At least three family members were in court and were seen hugging and consoling each other after Teixeira, wearing a tan brown jail jumpsuit, was ushered in by U.S. Marshals.
A judge told Teixeira he was being charged with possessing classified documents pertaining to national security and possessing national defense materials. The charges carry a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
Teixeira was arrested Thursday afternoon at a home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, federal officials said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how federal authorities believe Teixeira, who holds the rank of airman first class, could have gained access to sensitive Pentagon material, especially records pertaining to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Teixeira has been in uniform since entering the Air National Guard in September 2019. He has been based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod and is assigned as a cyber transport systems journeyman.
His arrest followed weeks of intense work by federal authorities, seeking the source of the leak, which exposed potentially hundreds of pages of intelligence about Russian efforts in Ukraine and spying on U.S. allies.
Teixeira’s next court appearance was set for Wednesday.
Brian Michael reported from Boston, and David K. Li from New York City.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
