According to an Air Force spokesperson, Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges for releasing sensitive material online, will now face military criminal procedures this month for alleged violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The Air Force decided to file separate and distinct charges against A1C Jack Teixeira for alleged misconduct connected to his military duties after close coordination with the Department of Justice, the official told ABC News on Wednesday.
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According to a document the spokesperson provided outlining the military charges, the charges include refusing to obey a legitimate order and obstructing justice.
The first charge alleges that Teixeira disobeyed an order “to cease and desist from accessing information not pertaining to his duties” at or near Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts between Sept. 15, 2022, and April 13, 2023, instead viewing unrelated information.
Between March 1 and April 13, 2023, the second charge alleges that Teixeira disposed of an iPad, computer hard drive, and cellphone “with intent to obstruct the due administration of justice in the case of himself, against whom the accused had reason to believe that there were or would be criminal proceedings pending.”
The Air Force further claims that Teixeira urged another person to erase Discord conversations he had written “with intent to obstruct the due administration of justice in his case” on or around April 7, 2023.
The spokeswoman stated that Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will hear these charges, “where a neutral and detached officer will examine whether the evidence is sufficient to refer the charges to trial by courts martial.”
Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts will host the hearing on May 14.
A federal grand jury accused Teixeira last year of six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting sensitive information related to national defense.
He pleaded guilty to all six crimes and accepted a 16-year jail sentence in March. In exchange, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with any additional offenses under the Espionage Act. The court has scheduled his sentence for September 27.
In March, a defense official informed ABC News that Teixeira remains active in the Air Force and could potentially face US military charges following the resolution of the civilian criminal accusations. The Air Force assigned Teixeira to Title 10 active duty status as a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, determining whether he should face military criminal charges.
Before his arrest in April 2023, Teixeira “accessed and printed hundreds of classified documents” and shared photographs of them on Discord, according to federal prosecutors.
