Jack Teixeira mishandled classified info twice before high-profile leak, wasn't removed from position: report

Air Force officials reportedly ordered Teixeira to 'cease and desist' his unwarranted access to sensitive materials

U.S. National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira was allegedly caught searching classified materials and taking notes by his superiors but not removed from his job. 

Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who is accused of leaking intelligence documents over social platform Discord, was caught twice improperly accessing classified materials in September and October of last year, according to the Department of Justice.

Air Force officials reportedly ordered Teixeira to "cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information," according to The New York Times. However, he was not removed from his position.

"Teixeira had been previously been notified to focus on his own career duties and not to seek out intelligence products," a superior wrote in a Feb. 4 memo obtained by the outlet.

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Selfie of Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old National Guard airman accused of leaking classified information. (Facebook)

Teixeira, 21, allegedly took information from classified documents and shared them over Discord, a social app primarily used by the gaming community, to potentially hundreds of people. 

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Smashed items, a helmet and other materials the Justice Department says were found in a dumpster outside Jack Teixeira's home following his arrest. (Justice Department)

The app allows users to set up individual servers or join other existing servers that can range in size from just a few privately invited members to larger servers with hundreds of thousands of members.

Teixeira, who worked as a cybersecurity journeyman for the Air National Guard, is accused of initially sharing typed-out classified information over messages in a small, private server — called Thug Shaker Central, which had about 50 members — before he provided photos of classified documents.

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This image made from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira being taken into custody by armed tactical agents on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Massachusetts. (WCVB-TV via AP)

He held a top-secret information security clearance, granted to him by the federal government. 

Members of the private group have since come forward to media outlets to say they viewed the intelligence documents. 

A military vehicle heads onto Joint Base Cape Cod, where Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira worked with the 102nd Intelligence Wing on the base. Teixeira was arrested regarding his alleged involvement in the leaked intelligence documents. (Steve Heaslip / USA TODAY NETWORK)  

Teixeira was arrested at his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, on April 13 following an FBI investigation into the "alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information."

He has been charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents.