(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Arguing that alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira should remain in pretrial detention, the Department of Justice has claimed that law enforcement found an “arsenal of weapons” where the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman lives—including AR- and AK-style weapons, and a “bazooka.”
However, the photos the DOJ has submitted as evidence tell a different story. The firearms pictured in Teixeira’s room have orange tips—the hallmark of an airsoft gun—and there’s certainly no bazooka apparent.
Notice anything odd about the "cache of weapons," pictured above?
— Radix Verum (@NotRadix) April 27, 2023
The DOJ said that the ATF has seized Teixeira’s guns, while the Guardsman’s father was permitted to keep his weapons. No charges were levied in relation to the alleged bazooka, which is illegal.
Teixeira’s public defenders did not address the DOJ’s bazooka claims in their response filed Thursday, nor did they mention the fact that the weapons pictured in DOJ’s evidence have orange tips. They did accuse prosecutors of ignoring the “blatant evidence demonstrating that those firearms were lawfully owned and properly stored and locked amidst his belongings.”
The public defenders, Brendan Kelley and Allen Franco, asked Magistrate Judge David Hennessy to allow Teixeira to live with his father during the upcoming criminal proceedings.
“The government cannot demonstrate that Mr. Teixeira is currently a risk of flight or obstruction, let alone a risk that could be considered ‘serious,’” the defense attorneys argued. “In the alternative, if the Court finds that such a serious risk does exist, Mr. Teixeira is still entitled to release because there are a set of conditions available that will reasonably assure his presence at trial and his compliance with court rules.”
Judge Hennessy did not immediately rule on the bail hearing. Teixeira remains in custody while the judge “takes the matter under advisement.”
Teixeira has been a divisive figure in American politics since his arrest earlier this month, for numerous reasons.
The Pentagon documents he’s accused of leaking have exposed that the U.S. has special forces in Ukraine, that U.S. officials are spying on their allies and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had plans to attack Russian territory.
But instead of being hailed as a whistleblower, mainstream media outlets and Democrat politicians have accused him of being a traitor. The New York Times and government-funded publication Bellingcat went as far as help the FBI identify Teixeira as the alleged leaker.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
