Former reservist arrested on suspicion of leaking classified information believed in ‘culling the weak minded’, court documents say
ByGenevieve Holl-Allen 21 April 2023 • 4:07pm
The 21-year-old member of the US air force who was behind the Pentagon leaks expressed a desire to kill a “ton of people” and had Russian military pendants hanging on the wall of his camouflage-decorated bedroom, court documents have revealed.
Jack Teixeira, a former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, has been arrested on suspicion of leaking classified information when a trove of documents relating to US intelligence on the war in Ukraine and other international matters was discovered on Discord, an online social media platform especially popular among gamers.
Court documents have revealed that Mr Teixeira “regularly made comments about violence and murder”, including stating that he would “‘kill a [expletive] ton of people’ because it would be ‘culling the weak minded’”.
He faces 25 years in prison “and potentially far more”, according to the document from prosecutors appealing for his pre-trial detention.
1. A pendant with ‘General Staff of the armed forces of the Russian Federation’ written in cyrillic with crest.
2. A universal biohazard symbol. The symbol denotes biological materials which carry a significant ‘risk to life’.
3. A fine line poster of a military vehicle. The truck appears similar in design to a US Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) with a gun fitted on top.
Mr Teixeira is considered a continued danger to national security, and the document expressed concern that “hostile nation states” could “offer him safe harbour and facilitate his escape from the United States. The nature of the materials that the Defendant accessed, not all of which have publicly surfaced, have the capacity to cause additional, exceptionally grave damage to the US national security if disclosed,” the document read.
Part of the evidence submitted to the court are shocking photographs of Mr Teixeira’s bedroom, which has camouflage wallpaper and netting draped across one wall. Mr Teixeira had pinned a pendant of the Russian armed forces to his noticeboard, and human silhouettes used as targets pierced with several bullet holes decorated the walls.
According to the document, “the Defendant kept his gun locker approximately two feet from his bed” which held “multiple weapons, including handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns, an AK-style high-capacity weapon, and a gas mask”. FBI agents also found ammunition and tactical pouches on his dresser and “what appeared to be a silencer-style accessory in his desk drawer”.
The shocking revelations raise questions as to how Mr Teixeira was admitted into the Air Force and had obtained such high security clearance. Evidence obtained from a social media platform indicated that Mr Teixeira “regularly made comments about violence and murder”. “In November 2022, the Defendant stated that if he had his way, he would “kill a [expletive] ton of people” because it would be “culling the weak minded,” the motion read.
In February 2023, Mr Teixeira “sought advice from another user about what type of rifle would be easy to operate from the back of an SUV. He describes how he would conduct the shooting in a ‘crowded urban or suburban environment’”.
In the same month, “the Defendant told a user that he was tempted to make a specific type of minivan into an ‘assassination van’.”
Mr Teixeira applied for a Firearms Identification Card on three separate occasions, first in 2018 when he was still a teenager. However, he was denied “due to the concerns of the local police department over the Defendant’s remarks at his high school”.
The documents state that Mr Teixeira had been suspended from high school after a classmate overheard his remarks “about weapons, including Molotov cocktails, guns at the school and racial threats”. When questioned, he said that the comments were a reference to a video game.
Two officers in command of the former guardsman have been temporarily suspended and had their access to classified systems and information temporarily suspended, a spokesman for the US Air Force told Fox News on Wednesday. The detachment commander overseeing administrative support for the airmen at the unit was also suspended.
“Commanders are taking appropriate action as information becomes available. All suspensions are temporary pending further investigation,” said Ann Stefanek, of the US Air Force.
Is Gitmo still operating?
This nazi motherfucker needs to be waterboarded for a few months with the other terror-loving scum before trial.
Sounds like if he hadn’t been arrested for leaking classified materials, he would have gone on to become a mass shooter.
I admit that I may be biased as an American conservative, but that picture of the wall poster, and other pictures don’t seem like clearly obvious links to his Teixeira’s intentions. It definitely was extremely stupid of him to post that information in a video game chat forum, but that doesn’t prove he’s hostile in even a generic sense, let alone to the intentions of American aid towards Ukrainian defense. For all I know, that wall poster could have come from Getty stock footage.
But there’s also nothing proving his naïve innocence either (that he just wanted to prove his status in the national guard), and he did make mistakes in leaking national secrets of both the United States and Ukraine, along with those of other countries too. I would want more conclusive evidence before making assumptions.
So here’s a guy publicly saying he wants to kill a ton of people, would prefer that to be in a crowded urban or suburban environment, and is seeking advice on how to make an effecitive assassination van.
And of course American conservatives think that doesn’t mean he’s hostile in even a generic sense and this type of person should have access to AR-15s.
Law enforcement did what they could to stop him, but of course the NRA will claim it was a violation of his 2A rights.
Americans are killing each other for knocking on their door, using a week-whacker which is too noisy and having a basketball roll into their driveway. Not to mention mass shootings in schools.
I fully support aid to Ukraine and believe we do have an obligation, but at the same time believe the police here are very UNDERFUNDED for what they are being asked to do.
Yes, America has an obligation to defend Ukraine but America also has an obligation to ensure children do not get murdered in school. Even if we lockdown and arm several guards at every school, guys like this will figure out a system to release chaos in other populated areas.
I mean the US has nearly 50,000 people per year dying of gun related injuries (48,830 in 2021). It’s not like our security needs are going completely met either.
Sir Honestly, let’s be honest. Of the 48k death by guns, 20k were homocides, the remainder was mostly war or law enforcement etc. a real small percentage were suicides, etc. of the total
more then 85% were in metro areas. So the gun toting conservatives who live in flyover country don’t do much. I agree on gun checks, background check, mental health checks etc but given the propensity of Washington to not knowing when enough is enough gun toting conservatives fear that the first step is only that…a first step to eliminating the 2nd amendment, which based on todays climate ain’t out of the realm of reason, unfortunately.
This sick individual is a disgrace to our entire armed forces. Moreover, those who are above him also disgraced our armed forces for enabling him to leak sensitive info for months without being caught.
Recall all the initial reports, he’s a good boy, very friendly etc. my ass he’s a fuckin traitor and should be treated as such.