Leaders of a unit that employed alleged Pentagon document leaker Jack Teixeira have been temporarily suspended, according to a Wednesday Air Force announcement cited by multiple outlets.
“Commanders are taking appropriate action as information becomes available,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Air & Space Forces Magazine, per the outlet.
According to CBS News, the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment commander overseeing administrative support have both been temporarily suspended from their leadership positions. They have also temporarily lost access to classified systems and information, the outlet added.
Teixeira, 21, was arrested earlier this month and is accused of leaking sensitive government documents via the Discord social media app for months. CBS News reported that he worked as a systems administrator in the 102nd Intelligence Wing in the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
“This was a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said of Teixeira’s actions.
In addition to the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts making the suspensions last week, the Air Force reassigned the unit’s intelligence mission to other units earlier this month. It also ordered the inspector general to probe the unit’s policies and procedures related to the handling of national security information.
“The 102nd Intelligence Wing’s website identifies its commander as Col. Sean D. Riley,” said Air & Space Forces Magazine. “The wing has had its intelligence duties temporarily reassigned to other units as the Air Force investigates the leaks. Stefanek did not identify the squadron commander or administrative commander by name.”
“This means that both the squadron’s state Air National Guard operational commander and current federal orders administrative commander have been suspended pending completion of the Department of the Air Force Inspector General Investigation,” Stefanek explained. She also noted the “suspensions are temporary pending further investigation.”
Investigators arrived at Otis Air National Guard Base Tuesday, said CBS, and Teixeira’s detention hearing was scheduled for Thursday in Worcester, Mass. U.S. Department of Justice court documents show that the DOJ believes he should be held until his trial and poses a significant flight risk.
According to the Air Force Times, “Teixeira is accused of spreading hundreds of classified documents detailing U.S. assessments of the war in Ukraine, conditions on the ground in Afghanistan and other national security issues.”
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