Federal prosecutors plan to recommend a 17-year prison sentence for a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who leaked highly classified military documents related to the war in Ukraine on a Discord server.

Jack Teixeira, who was 21 when he was arrested in April 2023, pleaded guilty to six counts of intentionally retaining and transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act in March.

Over the course of several months, Teixeira allegedly published hundreds of pages of sensitive military intelligenceincluding an assessment of the Russian and Ukrainian armies, to the Discord group “Thug Shaker Central.” The posts went unnoticed for months, but his superiors eventually warned him about his handling of classified documents.

Prosecutors argued in a court filing Tuesday that Teixeira “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in United States history.” according to the associated press. Teixeira’s lawyers are expected to recommend an 11-year sentence.

“As a member of the United States Armed Forces and as a warrant holder, the defendant swore an oath to defend the United States and protect its secrets, secrets that are vital to the national security of the United States and the physical safety of Americans. who serve abroad. prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for more than a year.”

Defense attorneys argued that 11 years is enough to deter other potential crimes and would be about half of their client’s life. They also stated that although Teixeira broke the law, he had no intention to “harm the United States.”

“Instead, his intention was to educate his friends about world events to ensure they were not misled by misinformation,” the attorneys wrote. “For Jack, the war in Ukraine was his generation’s Second World War or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with.”

Teixeira is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Tuesday, November 12.

Misty Severi is a nightly news reporter for Just The News. Can follow her on x for greater coverage.