Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison Tuesday for leaking classified military documents about the war in Ukraine, actions prosecutors said put the country's national security at risk, endangered other military members and damaged U.S. relationships with its allies.

Jack Teixeira had pleaded guilty in March to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, nearly a year after his arrest in the most consequential national security breach in years. Wearing an orange jumpsuit in court, he showed no reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.

“Today, Mr. Teixeira has paid a very heavy price for laws he broke, for the incredible damage that he caused," Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said afterward. “This significant sentence sends a powerful message to every individual who holds a top secret clearance. Anyone who willfully threatens our national security by illegally disseminating classified information will face very serious repercussions.”

Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division, told reporters the sentence held Teixeira accountable for “being one of the most prolific leakers of classified information in American history.”

“This former Air National Guardsman grossly betrayed our country and the oath he took to safeguard its secrets in order to boost his ego and impress his friends,” Cohen said. “This was not a victimless crime. The exceptionally grave damage he caused will impact our national security for decades to come.”

The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.

Outside court, Teixeira’s attorney Michael Bachrach called it a “very difficult day” for his client and said Talwani imposed a “very severe punishment.” Still, he said, it was better than taking the case to trial, where Teixeira would have faced 30 years to life behind bars.

“It’s a significant sentence that will deter others,” Bachrach said. “But it’s also one that will allow him to self-reflect and grow. And we fully expect that he will be doing so.”

Before he was sentenced, Teixeira showed little emotion as he stood in court and apologized for his actions. The 22-year-old had previously admitted he illegally collected some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and shared them with other users on the social media platform Discord.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Teixeira said. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring.”.

Afterward, Teixeira hugged one of his attorneys, looked toward his family and smiled before being led from court. His family left without commenting to reporters but his mother and others did submit letters to the court seeking leniency.

"I know Jack deeply regrets his actions and is ready to accept his punishment for his part in this situation," his mother, Dawn Dufault, wrote. “While I understand the severity of his charges and the importance of ensuring justice, I implore you, Your Honor, to consider Jack’s true nature and his unique challenges, as I have observed over the years.”

The security breach raised alarm over the country's ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks also embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

Earlier in court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan told Talwani that 200 months — little more than 16 1/2 years - was appropriate given the “historic” damage from Teixeira's breach in aiding America's adversaries and hurting its allies. He also said such a sentence would send a message to anyone in the military who might consider similar conduct.

“It will be a cautionary tale for the men and women in the U.S. military,” Dolan said. “They are going to be told this is what happens if you break your promise, if you betray your country ... They will know the defendant’s name. They will know the sentence the court imposes.”

But Bachrach told the judge Tuesday that 11 years was sufficient and would amount to half of the 22-year-old's life.

“It is a significant, harsh and difficult sentence, one that will not be easy to serve,” Bachrach said, adding that Talwani should consider that his client was diagnosed with autism.

Defense attorneys had described Teixeira as an autistic, isolated individual who spent most of his time online, especially with his Discord community. They said his actions, though criminal, were never meant to “harm the United States,” and he had no prior criminal record.

“Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation,” they wrote. “To Jack, the Ukraine war was his generation’s World War II or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with.”

Prosecutors countered in court filngs that Teixeira did not suffer from any intellectual disability and understood what he was doing was wrong. They wrote that his post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism was of “questionable relevance” to the proceedings.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. He worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, which is essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.

Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and an Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his house.

Special Agent in Charge FBI, Boston Division Jodi Cohen, faces reporters during a news conference following a sentencing hearing for Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, at federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Acting U.S. Attorney District of Massachusetts Joshua Levy, right, faces reporters as Special Agent in Charge FBI, Boston Division Jodi Cohen, left, looks on following a sentencing hearing for Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira at federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Acting U.S. Attorney District of Massachusetts Joshua Levy, right, faces reporters as Special Agent in Charge FBI, Boston Division Jodi Cohen, left, looks on following a sentencing hearing for Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira at federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Michael Bachrach, defense attorney for Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, faces reporters outside federal court following a sentencing hearing for Teixeira, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Acting U.S. Attorney District of Massachusetts Joshua Levy faces reporters following a sentencing hearing for Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira at federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Thomas Dufault, center right, stepfather of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, departs federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston, following a sentencing hearing for Jack Teixeira. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Thomas Dufault, front, stepfather of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, departs federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston, following a sentencing hearing for Jack Teixeira. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Jack Michael Teixeira, center, father of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira. arrives at federal court for his son's sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston,. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Jack Michael Teixeira, center, father of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira. arrives at federal court for his son's sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston,. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Jack Michael Teixeira, center, father of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira. arrives at federal court for his son's sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Boston,. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - This artist depiction shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, April 14, 2023. (Margaret Small via AP, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers acted alone, the FBI said Thursday, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in the deadly attack that officials said was inspired by the Islamic State group.

The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, posted five videos on his Facebook account in the hours before the attack in which he proclaimed his support for the militant group and previewed the violence that he would soon unleash in the city's famed French Quarter district.

“This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act,” said Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, calling Jabbar “100% inspired” by the Islamic State.

The attack killed 14 revelers, along with Jabbar, who was fatally shot in a firefight with police after steering his speeding truck around a barricade and plowing into the crowd.

It was the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat. That threat is emerging as the FBI and other agencies brace for dramatic leadership upheaval after President-elect Donald Trump's administration takes office.

Seeking to assuage concerns about any broader plots, Raia stressed that there was no indication of a connection between the New Orleans attack and a Tesla Cybertruck explosion Wednesday outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel.

The FBI continued to hunt for clues, but said that 24 hours into its investigation, it was now confident that the 42-year-old Jabbar was not aided by anyone else in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a father of two and a former Princeton University football star.

Officials have reviewed surveillance video showing people standing near an improvised explosive device that Jabbar placed in a cooler along the city's Bourbon Street, where the attack occurred, but authorities “do not believe at this point these people are involved ... in any way,” Raia said.

Investigators were also trying to understand more about Jabbar's path to radicalization, which they say culminated with him picking up a rented truck in Houston on Dec. 30 and driving it to New Orleans the following night.

The FBI recovered a black Islamic State flag from his rented pickup and reviewed five videos posted to Facebook, including one in which he said he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that news headlines would not focus on the “war between the believers and the disbelievers,” Raia said. He also left a last will and testament, the FBI said.

Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.

Abdur-Rahim Jabbar, Jabbar's younger brother, told The Associated Press on Thursday that it “doesn’t feel real” that his brother could have done this.

“I never would have thought it’d be him,” he said. “It’s completely unlike him.”

He said that his brother had been isolated in the last few years, but that he had also been in touch with him and he didn’t see any signs of radicalization.

“It’s completely contradictory to who he was and how his family and his friends know him,” he said.

In New Orleans on Thursday, a still-reeling city inched back toward normal operations. Authorities finished processing the scene early in the morning, removing the last of the bodies, and Bourbon Street was set to reopen at some point later in the day, according to an official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP.

The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, initially set for Wednesday night and postponed by a day in the interest of national security, was still on for Thursday. The city planned to host the Super Bowl next month.

“This is one of the safest places on earth," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said. "It doesn’t mean that nothing can't happen.”

Tucker reported from Washington, and Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith, Chevel Johnson and Brett Martel in New Orleans; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Alanna Durkin Richer, Tara Copp and Zeke Miller in Washington; Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware; Colleen Long in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

Flowers are seen near where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A man uses a power washer on Toulouse street a day after a vehicle was driven into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Security with bomb sniffing dogs patrol the area around the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Military personnel walk down Bourbon street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People react at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street during the investigation after a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of revelers early on New Year's Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Police officers stand near the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Matthias Hauswirth of New Orleans prays on the street near the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

This undated passport photo provided by the FBI on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, shows Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. (FBI via AP)

Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

A New Orleans police officer searches the area near a crime scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street earlier, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Emergency personnel work the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Investigators work the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd killing several, earlier on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell makes a statement after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A mounted police officer arrives on Canal Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd earlier in New Orleans, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)

A police barricade near the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The St. Louis Cathedral is seen on Orleans St is seen in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Emergency services attend the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Investigators work the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd earlier on Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Trevant Hayes, 20, sits in the French Quarter after the death of his friend, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, after a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians on Bourbon Street followed by a shooting in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

A black flag with white lettering lies on the ground rolled up behind a pickup truck that a man drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing and injuring a number of people, early Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, 2025. The FBI said they recovered an Islamic State group flag, which is black with white lettering, from the vehicle. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Emergency services attend the scene after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Security personnel gather at the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Security personnel investigate the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The FBI investigates the area on Orleans St and Bourbon Street by St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter where a suspicious package was detonated after a person drove a truck into a crowd earlier on Bourbon Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Edward Bruski, center, gets emotional at the scene where a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

FBI members examine the scene on Bourbon Street during the investigation of a truck fatally crashing into pedestrians on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Emergency service vehicles form a security barrier to keep other vehicles out of the French Quarter after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Members of the FBI walk around Bourbon Street during the investigation of a truck fatally crashing into pedestrians on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)