Pentagon documents leak suspect Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to federal charges

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press

The Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal felony charges. Twenty-one-year-old Jack Teixeira entered a not-guilty plea during a hearing in Worcester’s federal court days after he was indicted by a grand jury on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Teixeira, of North Dighton, has been behind bars since his April arrest on charges stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. He is accused of sharing classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security topics on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.