Jack Teixeira: US airman appears in court over Pentagon documents leak

The US airman accused of leaking confidential intelligence and defence documents is appearing in court in Boston.

Jack Teixeira, 21, wore shackles and a prison uniform as he stood before a federal judge.

He has been formally charged in relation to the leaking of hundreds of classified documents on a gaming chat server.

Mr Teixeira was arrested by the FBI at his home in Massachusetts on Thursday.

The dozens of leaked documents had revealed US assessments of the war in Ukraine as well as sensitive secrets about American allies, embarrassing Washington and raising fresh questions over the security of classified information.

Mr Teixeira was charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defence information, and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

The judge ruled that the suspect qualifies for a public defender - a lawyer employed at public expense in a criminal trial for people who cannot afford legal fees.

US prosecutors requested Mr Teixeira be held in custody until his trial.

The intelligence material first appeared in a Discord chat room that Mr Teixeira was allegedly a member of.

It was not until intelligence material was posted outside the chat room group that Pentagon officials became aware of the leak, prompting a search for the culprit.

Mr Teixeira worked as an IT specialist in the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts National Guard, based at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.

The National Guard is a reservist wing of the US Air Force. They are not employed full time in the military, but can be deployed when necessary.

Mr Texeira's official title was cyber defence operations journeyman, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Boston court. He held the rank of Airman 1st Class - a relatively junior position.

In the criminal complaint, it is alleged that Mr Teixeira had a "top secret" security clearance that was granted in 2021.

Prosecutors have said that in order to obtain that clearance, Mr Teixeira would have had to sign a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement, and that he would have been aware that breaching the agreement would result in criminal charges.