REUTERS/Margaret Small
- A 21-year-old charged with leaking secret US military documents had his detention hearing delayed.
- Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, appeared briefly in federal court Wednesday.
- A judge had granted a motion to delay the detention hearing because the defense needs more time.
BOSTON, Massachusetts — A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly sensitive US military documents to social media had his detention hearing delayed because the defense says it needs more time to prepare.
During a second appearance at federal court in Boston on Wednesday, Jack Teixeira responded affirmatively to Magistrate Judge David Hennessy when asked if he was voluntarily waiving his right to a preliminary hearing. He was originally due in court for a detention hearing and a preliminary examination.
But earlier on Wednesday, Hennessy granted a request by attorneys to delay Teixeira's detention hearing by around two weeks. Brendan Kelley, an assistant federal defender, wrote in a motion that "the defense requires more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention," according to court filings reviewed by Insider.
A detention hearing, where the judge decides if Teixeira should be held indefinitely or let out on bail, has been tentatively set for May 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Teixeira, wearing an orange jumpsuit and necklace of rosary beads, was led into a packed courtroom shortly before 11 a.m. local time Wednesday, his hands shackled in front of him. A court official then removed his shackles and he took a seat between his attorneys while waiting several minutes for the judge to arrive.
He made a couple of head motions when speaking quietly with his attorney, and only spoke when responding to questions from Hennessy.
Teixeira was arrested by federal agents on April 13 at his home in southeastern Massachusetts after authorities identified him in collection with the leak of a trove of highly classified Pentagon documents.
The following day, during an initial court appearance in Boston, Teixeira was charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. He faces the possibility of over a decade in prison.