Suspect in leak of US military secrets appears in court, owns a gun arsenal

However, Judge Hennessy declined to rule on whether Jack Douglas Teixeira should be released pending criminal trial and adjourned the hearing, which lasted more than an hour at the District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Suspect Jack Douglas Teixeira while serving in the US Air National Guard. Photo: GI

Teixeira was arrested by the FBI on April 13 at his home in Massachusetts and charged with violating the Espionage Act. Prosecutors said Teixeira disclosed classified documents, including some related to troop movements in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to a gaming chat group on the messaging app Discord.

In a filing late Wednesday, they said he had destroyed evidence in the case and they also pointed to his history of threatening violence online, saying he should be held pending trial because he posed a flight risk and posed a threat.

Teixeira, who lived with his mother and stepfather, had a gun cabinet two feet from his bed that contained handguns, a submachine gun and a military-style rifle with a large magazine, according to U.S. officials.

US officials said FBI agents also found a gas mask, ammunition and what appeared to be a “silencer-type accessory in his desk drawer.” But Teixeira’s defense attorney, Brendan Kelley, said his client had not violated gun laws and the weapon was properly stored.

Before Thursday's hearing, Teixeira's lawyers said in court filings that they objected to pretrial detention, and asked the judge to release him home under the custody of his father, on $20,000 bail and to wear a location monitoring device.

Prosecutors revealed in court filings Wednesday night that Teixeira was suspended from high school after making racial threats and comments about guns. More recently, in November 2022, Teixeira said he would “kill a lot of people” because it would “kill the weak.”

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nghi-pham-ro-ri-bi-mat-quan-su-my-ra-hau-toa-so-huu-ca-kho-sung-post245555.html