Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira ordered detained ahead of trial

The 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard charged in connection with the leaked documents probe has been ordered detained ahead of his trial.

During a continued detention hearing in federal court Friday afternoon, the federal magistrate judge rejected Jack Teixeira's appeal for pretrial release, saying the alleged leaker was responsible for a "profound breach" that put at risk "a list as long as a phone book."

The judge, David Hennessy, first heard arguments last month over whether Teixeira should be kept in federal custody ahead of his trial but said he needed more time to review before making a decision.

Prosecutors have argued that Teixeira is both a flight and national security risk and, if released on bail, they say he could "further disseminate classified information" and "take refuge with a foreign adversary."

Teixeira's public defender, meanwhile, has argued that the airman should be permitted to remain out of pretrial detention in the custody of his father or confined to a home with the presence of either his father, mother, stepfather, Air Force personnel or his lawyers. Teixeira's father testified during the April 27 detention hearing that he was prepared to serve as a third-party custodian pending his son's release.

Despite defense objections, the judge said Friday he took seriously the argument by federal prosecutors that, if released, Teixeira could be lured by an American adversary to give up sensitive information.

"I understand it smacks of a spy novel but I honestly think the government has the better argument here," Hennessy said. "Foreign countries know this defendant was disloyal to the United States."

Teixeira, a native of Dighton, Massachusetts, was arrested in mid-April and has been charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, as well as willful retention of classified documents, which collectively carry a maximum of 15 years in prison. He has yet to enter a plea.

The criminal complaint alleges that Teixeira "improperly and unlawfully retained and transmitted national defense information to people not authorized to receive it."

The leaked documents apparently contain top-secret information about Russia's war in Ukraine and other parts of the world. Teixeira allegedly accessed a government document on Feb. 23 and posted it online the following day, according to the complaint. It's the disclosure of that one document that forms the basis of the initial charges.

He entered court in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Friday in handcuffs, wearing an orange smock bearing the initials of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. He glanced at his father, mother and stepfather seated in the front row of the spectator's gallery.

Hennessy heard no additional arguments on Friday before explaining his decision.

"I am going to grant the government's motion for detention on each ground," Hennessy told the court. "What the record at this point shows is a profound breach."

Prosecutors allege Teixeira accessed far more classified information than what was posted. They suggested during last month's detention hearing that given his untrustworthy nature, he would be likely to flee and compared him directly to Edward Snowden.

In a new court filing Wednesday further arguing in support of keeping the defendant behind bars until his trial, prosecutors said Teixeira was twice admonished by his superiors last year over "concerning actions" he took with regard to classified information.

Specifically, Teixeira was told by superiors in September and October "to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information" and to "cease-and-desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information," prosecutors wrote in the filing.

Not long after the warnings, Teixeira allegedly admitted online in December that he was "breaking a ton of [unauthorized disclosure] regs" but "Idgaf what they say I can or can't share," according to prosecutors' motion.

Teixeira's behavior showed "he will be undeterred by any restrictions this court places upon him and will not hesitate to circumvent those restrictions if he deems it in his interest to do so," prosecutors contended.

Teixeira's defense team also filed a motion ahead of the hearing in support of his pretrial release. His public attorney, Allen Franco, cited prior cases involving people charged with various offenses related to classified information who were permitted to be conditionally released before their trials.

Franco also argued that the government has offered "no evidence" that his client ever intended for information shared online "to be widely disseminated."

Hennessy said Friday that he rejected the defense argument that the weight of the evidence was unimportant.

"The nature and circumstances of the offense in my view strongly support detention in this case," Hennessy said.

"Who did he put at risk? You could make a list as long as a phone book," including American troops, Ukrainian soldiers and Ukrainian citizens, the judge said.

It was shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine when Teixeira "began accessing classified information that was unrelated to his duties as an Airman," the judge said.

The judge quoted online chats in which a user asked Teixeira whether any of the information he allegedly shared was classified.

"Everything that I've been posting is classified," the judge quoted Teixeira as responding.

When the user replied, "Then you really trust everyone," the judge said Teixeira's response was telling.

"His answer was, 'I have plausible deniability. Nobody knows who I am,'" the judge said.

Hennessy also cited the warnings Teixeira was allegedly given by his superiors at Joint Base Cape Cod, saying, "Defendant was three times confronted with accessing classified information."

The judge conceded Teixeira "comes from a good family" and noted "his mother, father and stepfather have been at every proceeding." However, Hennessy said Teixeira's "fascination with guns" concerned him.

"There appears to be an unhealthy component to that," the judge said.

The defense painted a more docile picture of Teixeira reading the Bible prior to his arrest and surrendering peacefully.

"That's a very good argument, but I think it looks at the record in isolation," Hennessy said, noting that Teixeira allegedly destroyed his cellphone and other electronics and told a user in his chat group that he should say nothing if authorities came asking questions.

Teixeira's family expressed disappointment in Friday's ruling and said "Jack's wellbeing and safety is our priority right now."

"As a family, we are as committed as ever and remain steadfast and determined in our complete support of Jack as we continue to wade through this process," the family said in a statement.

ABC News' Luke Barr, Morgan Winsor, Alexander Mallin, Jack Date and Trevor Ault contributed to this report.