“U.S. document leak suspect destroys evidence, studies mass shooting” | World News

A U.S. Air National Guard member accused of leaking classified military documents has a history of making violent threats, used his government computer to research mass shootings and attempted to destroy evidence of his crimes, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

In a 48-page document, the Justice Department said Jack Teixeira, 21, should be detained pending trial, saying his violent remarks combined with his apparent efforts to destroy evidence “increased the risk of his escape. risks and dangers”.

Prosecutors will present their arguments in favor of the detention before a U.S. District Judge in Worcester, Mass., on Thursday afternoon.

Teixeira’s attorney, who has not yet commented on the case, is expected to argue at Thursday’s hearing that he should not be detained pretrial.

The documents, which also contain photos of the suspect’s bedroom during an FBI search of his home, say that in July 2022, he used his government computer to find famous people using search terms such as “Uvalde,” “Ruby Ridge,” and “Ruby Ridge.” of mass shootings. “Las Vegas Shooting.”

During a search of his home, the FBI found a smashed tablet, a laptop and a game console in a dumpster. In addition, prosecutors said they had unearthed evidence that Teixeira instructed other online users to “delete all messages.”

Earlier this month, Teixeira was charged with one count of violating the espionage laws, one count of unlawfully copying and transmitting sensitive defense material, and a second count of unlawfully transferring defense material to an unauthorized location.

If convicted, prosecutors said he could face up to 25 years in prison.

The leaked documents are considered the centerpiece of the investigation into the worst security breach in the United States since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. The Pentagon called the leak a “deliberate criminal act.” “

Prosecutors said in the detention memo that Teixeira began accessing hundreds of classified documents unrelated to his work in February 2022 and began posting some of the classified information on social media around December 2022.

“The damage that the defendants have already caused to the national security of the United States is substantial. The damage that the defendants are still capable of causing is extraordinary,” the memo said.

The classified documents provide a variety of highly classified information on allies and adversaries, detailing everything from Ukraine’s air defenses to Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

violent comments

In addition to evidence that Teixeira attempted to obstruct evidence and influence witnesses in the case, prosecutors said he had a troubled history dating back to his teenage years.

When he was 18, he was denied a firearms ID application for comments he made while still in high school related to “weapons, including Molotov cocktails, school guns and racial threats,” they said.

He has also made violent comments about the murder on social media, including a November 2022 post saying he would “kill a [expletive] A lot of people” because it would “weed out the weak”.

On Feb. 10, 2023, Teixeira asked users for comments on which type of rifle would be easier to use against “a target on a sidewalk or porch” from the back of a parked SUV, the filing shows.

Prosecutors said they also found evidence that Teixeira admitted to others online that the information he posted was classified.

In a chat room message exchange included in the documents, Teixeira was asked whether the information he posted was classified.

He replied, “That’s all I’ve told you so far.”

In Wednesday’s filing, prosecutors said: “There are no conditions of release that could be set that would reasonably ensure his future court appearances or the safety of the community…he should be detained.”