Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking classified Pentagon documents on social media, was denied pre-trial release for a second time Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani upheld a previous decision of a magistrate judge that Teixeira be held in detention while awaiting his trial, according to reports.
Teixeira, 21, has been behind bars since his arrest in April. He pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national military information. He faces up to 60 years in prison.
Teixeira’s attorneys argued that their client did not pose a risk if let go, and pointed to the release of other suspects who had been charged with leaking classified documents, including former president Donald Trump.
But Talwani cited allegations that Teixeira searched the classified military network for information about domestic mass shootings.
“When Teixeira spoke to other participants on his social media platform, he exhibited a chilling interest in violence and disregard for human life,” the judge wrote.
“The court also cannot dismiss the government’s evidence that Teixeira has a disquieting interest in mass violence,” Talwani continued. “Teixeira’s social media messages display both an affinity for violence and vitriol for certain classes of people.”
She also pointed to evidence the government believes is still missing, noting that if released, Teixeira could have an opportunity to obstruct the case.
Teixeira is suspected of leaking troves of classified Defense Department documents on Discord, a social media platform primarily used by online gamers, after he allegedly obtained them while serving as a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman. The highly classified documents included detailed intelligence assessments of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Teixeira enlisted in the US Air National Guard in 2019 and was granted top-secret security clearance in 2021, the Justice Department has previously said.
He worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman for the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod during the timeframe he has been accused of leaking national security secrets.
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