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A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira to 15 years in prison.

Teixeria, a 22-year-old Air National Guardsman from Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to leaking highly classified military documents related to the war in Ukraine.

Prior to his sentencing on Tuesday, Teixeria spoke to the court and apologized for his actions, saying: “I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused.”

“I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring,” he added.

The Case Against Teixeria

An investigation was originally launched in April 2023 after highly classified documents started circulating on social media that contained details about U.S. intelligence updates, including information about military support to Ukraine. The breach sent shockwaves through U.S. national security circles, sparking serious concerns about the country’s capacity to safeguard its most sensitive information.

Teixeira, who had a top-secret security clearance as part of his cyber defense operations journeyman position at the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was later identified and accused of uploading hundreds of pages of sensitive information to an online Discord chatroom.

The Biden administration raced to contain the diplomatic and military fallout, as the leaks left the Pentagon facing embarrassment. In response, officials tightened protocols for handling classified materials and took disciplinary action against personnel who had failed to address signs of Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.

The Sentencing

Ahead of sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan urged U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to impose a 200-month sentence—just over 16 1/2 years—arguing it was fitting given the “historic” harm caused by Teixeira’s actions, which, he said, benefited U.S. adversaries and compromised key allies. Dolan added that the recommended sentence would serve as a warning to other military personnel who might contemplate similar breaches.

“It will be a cautionary tale for the men and women in the U.S. military,” Dolan said to the court. “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.”

Teixeira’s attorney, Michael Bachrach, argued Tuesday that an 11-year sentence would be sufficient.

“It will serve as an extreme deterrent to anyone, particularly young servicemen. That is enough to keep them deterred from committing serious conduct,” Bachrach argued.

Who Is Teixeira?

Teixeira, a resident of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in March to six counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act. His plea came nearly a year after his arrest in one of the most significant national security leaks in recent years.

The 22-year-old confessed to illegally gathering some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence and sharing it with others on Discord.

At the time of Teixeira’s guilty plea, prosecutors indicated they would push for a sentence at the upper end of the range. However, the defense argued in their sentencing memo that an 11-year term would amount to “essentially equal to half the life that Jack has lived thus far.”

Teixeira’s attorneys portrayed him as an autistic and socially isolated young man who spent the majority of his time online, particularly within his Discord community. They argued that, while his actions were criminal, he had no intent to “harm the United States.” They also noted he had no previous criminal record.

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

Teixeira served as a cyber transport systems specialist with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, where he was responsible for managing military communications networks.

The leak revealed highly classified U.S. intelligence assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including details on Ukrainian troop movements and the supply of weapons and equipment to Ukrainian forces. Teixeira also admitted to sharing intelligence on plans by a U.S. adversary to target American troops stationed overseas.

Update 11/12/24 5:42 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.

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