A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who posted dozens of secret intelligence reports and other sensitive documents on a gaming server, on six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information.<\/p>\n
The filing of criminal charges against Mr. Teixeira, 21, comes two months after F.B.I. agents arrested him at his home in North Dighton, Mass., on April 13.<\/p>\n
Mr. Teixeira has remained in federal custody after prosecutors presented evidence that he had a history of making violent and racist threats, had access to an arsenal of weapons and represented a risk of sharing sensitive information with foreign countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified information jeopardizes our nation\u2019s security,\u201d Joshua S. Levy, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, said in a statement. \u201cIndividuals granted access to classified materials have a fundamental duty to safeguard the information for the safety of the United States, our active service members, its citizens and its allies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to ensuring that those entrusted with sensitive national security information adhere to the law,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mr. Teixeira\u2019s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Before his arrest, Air Force officials caught Airman Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material months before he was charged with leaking a vast trove of government secrets, but did not remove him from his job, according to previous filings in the case.<\/p>\n