Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira had an 'arsenal' of weapons, prosecutors said

Prosecutors argued that Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman accused of releasing Pentagon secrets on social media, had an “arsenal” of weapons and could flee the country if released from jail, during his detention hearing Thursday.

Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, is charged with unauthorized retention of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified documents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy didn't rule immediately whether to release Teixeira with conditions, as his lawyers requested, or keep him jailed until trial.

'A virtual arsenal of weapons'

In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors said he kept a gun locker near his bed that held weapons including handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns and an AK-style high-capacity weapon. FBI agents searched the dumpster outside his house and found a military-style helmet, a mounting bracket used to attach a camera to the helmet and a GoPro camera.

"A search of the Defendant’s primary and secondary residences – that of his mother and father – also revealed the existence of a virtual arsenal of weapons, including bolt-action rifles, rifles, AR and AK-style weapons, and a bazooka," prosecutors said.

More: How did the FBI track down Jack Teixeira, who is charged with classified documents leak?

Teixeira also appeared fixated on mass killings, according to prosecutors:

• In November 2022, he said he would “kill a (expletive) ton of people” because it would be “culling the weak-minded.”

• In February 2023, he told a social media user he was tempted to convert a specific type of minivan into an “assassination van.”

• In February 2023, he sought advice from another social media user for what type of rifle would operate easily from the back of an SUV. He described how he would shoot in a “crowded urban or suburban environment.”

FBI Special Agent Luke Church said in a court filing Teixeira used his government computer in July 2022 to search the following terms: “Ruby Ridge,” “Las Vegas shooting,” “Mandalay Bay shooting,” “Buffalo tops shooting,” and “Uvalde.” The searches were unrelated to his job, according to Church.

Teixeira also represents a risk of fleeing country because he faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted and the loss of his military career, prosecutors said. He may still have access to a trove of classified documents that “would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States,” prosecutors said.

More: How Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old guard leaked documents from deep inside the Pentagon

“The Defendant has already proved himself to be untrustworthy. The Defendant has already proved himself to be a danger to the U.S. national security,” U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a court filing to keep Teixeira detained. “And in light of the physical danger posed by the Defendant if released, there is simply no condition or combination of conditions that can be fashioned to adequately address and mitigate the risk posed by his release.”

Teixeira's lawers: He represents no flight risk, owns guns legally

Teixeira’s lawyers, public defenders Allen Franco and Brendan Kelley, argued that he should be released pending trial because he will be monitored by his parents and the military. Teixeira is still an active-duty airman first class, and a senior master sergeant has been designated to maintain regular contact with him, the lawyers said.

Teixeira lived with his mother and stepfather, a veteran of the 102nd Intelligence Wing who retired after 34 years in the military. Teixeira was arrested without incident in his mother’s driveway.

“This presence and compliance, despite the overt incentive to flee, is direct evidence that he poses no legitimate risk for nonappearance and noncompliance with court procedures,” the lawyers said.

His lawyers said Teixeira’s guns were stored so safely that federal agents needed a drill to get into the safe.

“At the time of his arrest, Mr. Teixeira legally owned and stored firearms in a locked gun safe at his mother’s residence in compliance with his Massachusetts license to carry,” the lawyers said.

The lawyers suggested conditions on his release including confinement to his residence unless visiting relatives or work, no access to the internet and a $20,000 bond. The lawyers disputed the government’s accusation that a hostile government would seduce him to leave the United States.

“If the Court finds that Mr. Teixeira currently poses a serious risk of flight or obstruction, he is still entitled to pretrial release because there are ample release conditions available to reasonably assure both his presence at trial and compliance with judicial procedures,” the lawyers said.

Judge voices skepticism of defense arguments

Teixeira entered the detention hearing in Worcester, Massachusetts, in orange prison garb. His handcuffs were removed before he sat down.

Hennessy voiced skepticism about defense arguments that Teixeira never intended for the classified documents to be distributed widely on the internet.

“Somebody under the age of 30 has no idea that when they put something on the internet that it could end up anywhere in the world?” Hennessy asked. “Seriously?”

Nadine Pellegrini, chief of the national security division in the U.S. attorney’s office, told Hennessy the defendant’s threatening words and behavior were “not speculation."

"It is based on what we know to date," she said.

Pentagon suspends officials at Teixeira's base

The Air Force has suspended the top commander and two other officials at the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base where Teixeira served, according to Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson.

The Air Force has also temporarily removed the commanders’ access to classified systems.

The suspensions follow the opening of an Air Force inspector general's investigation of the leak of classified information by Teixeira.

Teixeira had been called up to active duty in September along with other Guardsmen at the base. Airmen there help sift through the torrent of intelligence the Air Force collects by through spy drones and other aircraft.

Teixeira’s job, essentially an IT tech for the intelligence, gave him access to the Pentagon’s internal computer systems, including one of the most sensitive. Known as the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System, or JWICS, it is essentially the Pentagon’s internet for classified documents.

Teixeira would have had access to JWICS to help maintain it, not as an intelligence analyst, according to Scott Murray, a retired Air Force colonel and intelligence expert. Teixeira likely wouldn’t have had unfettered access to the most sensitive information such as the President’s Daily Brief, a distillation of the latest critical intelligence collected around the world.

Still, Teixeira’s access allowed him to see – and pilfer – a trove of sensitive information, including daily battlefield updates and assessments of U.S. allies and adversaries. It’s estimated that hundreds of people inside the federal government, including contractors, have similar access.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pentagon leak suspect Teixeira had 'arsenal' of weapons: prosecutors