DIGHTON, MASS. (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Air National guardsman arrested at his mom’s home for allegedly leaking secret military information online is from a military family.
Jack Teixeira, 21, graduated Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School in 2020. He then joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard where he was a part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing with the Air National Guard on Cape Cod.
Though it is not clear what security clearance or access he had, the Air Force said he worked to make sure the service’s vast, global communications network operated properly.
Teixeira’s step-father served for 35 years and was based out of Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod. He retired in 2019, and it is unclear if he helped recruit Teixeira in 2020.
Court documents explain the security clearance Teixeira had would have required him to sign a lifetime non-disclosure agreement, understanding that releasing protected information would result in criminal charges.
Jason Ruta graduated with Teixeira in 2020.
“This is all reality bending because I know this person,” Ruta said. “I genuinely don’t think that he was trying to get anyone hurt… there was probably loneliness, desperation to feel something.”
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