Alumni: "He couldn't get along with friends and envied the military"
"Speculation that desire for showing off was the motive for the crime"
Jack Tesseira (21), an active-duty soldier arrested on charges of leaking classified U.S. documents, was testified to have been a loner obsessed with guns, the military, and war during his school days.
On the 14th (local time), AP News and CNN reported on Tesseira’s school days based on testimonies from his classmates.
According to the reports, Tesseira was known to have admired the military since his teenage years. His high school classmate John Powell said, “Tesseira used to carry thick books about military equipment such as firearms, tanks, and fighter jets.”
Other classmates also recalled that Tesseira was close to his adoptive father who had served in the military and was known as a so-called “military enthusiast” who loved military equipment.
There were also testimonies that he was an “outsider” who did not get along well with friends at school. Powell said that Tesseira was bullied during middle school and added, “I never imagined he would do something like this.”
High school classmate Kailani Race recalled, “Tesseira was very quiet and gave off a loner vibe.” Another classmate, Sarah Arnold, also said, “He was a quiet student who liked to be alone.”
Jack Teseira, who was arrested on charges of leaking classified U.S. documents [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]
Brooke Kleiser, who attended the same middle and high school as Tesseira, said, “People were wary of him.” Although he did not cause problems during school days, there were often situations that made people uncomfortable.
In particular, some classmates testified that Tesseira made remarks and behaved in ways that could be perceived as racist. One classmate remembered him coming to school wearing a T-shirt with an image of an AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle. The AR-15 is a weapon frequently used in mass shootings such as the 2012 Florida and 2017 Las Vegas incidents.
In the Discord chat room “Thug Shaker Central,” where Tesseira is known to have leaked classified information, discussions about preferred firearms as well as racist and anti-Semitic remarks were exchanged.
However, after enlisting in the military in 2019, which he had admired, Tesseira reportedly made statements suggesting regret. A member of “Thug Shaker Central” said, “Tesseira even told me, ‘If you think about enlisting, I’ll give you a hard time.’” Other members said, “Tesseira expressed concerns about the growing size of the federal government,” and some speculated that “he probably enlisted to earn money for college.”
Most members said, “We are just geeks who want to throw jokes and have fun,” and suggested that “Tesseira’s motive for the crime was likely vanity.”
Meanwhile, according to foreign media, Tesseira, who appeared in court just one day after his arrest, is expected to be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison on serious charges including unauthorized removal and transmission of classified documents.
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