Jack Teixeira, 21, of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was charged with “unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information,” according to CNN, citing court documents.

The young soldier was also accused of “unauthorized removal and retention of documents or classified documents”.

Teixeira was not required to make a statement about his possible guilt.

The defendant simply responded calmly when the judge informed him of his rights, according to Spanish news agency EFE.

At one point during the hearing, a man shouted “I love you, Jack” from the back of the courtroom, to which the suspect replied without turning around: “I love you too, dad”, added EFE.

A federal magistrate ordered him to remain in police custody until at least the arrest hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, April 19.

Swansea, Massachusetts native Jack Teixeira was arrested on Thursday.

The FBI (US Federal Police) arrested Teixeira because the clues pointed to him as responsible for leaking secret documents in the United States.

Billing records from an internet media platform helped the FBI identify the suspect, according to court records seen by the US news agency AP.

Teixeira began posting the documents to a Discord chat room, but its reach exploded in March when a user spread the documents to other groups with more members.

The files detail US assessment of the war in Ukraine and data on the state of Russian forces, as well as sensitive information on Canada, China, Israel and South Korea.

png // SCA

By Impala News / Lusa

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