BEDFORD, Mass. >> Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member who caused an international uproar when he leaked highly classified documents about the war in Ukraine, used his court-martial Thursday to describe himself as a “proud patriot” who was only “exposing and correcting the lies perpetuated by the Biden administration.”

After pleading guilty to military charges of obstructing justice, the 23-year-old acknowledged he knew his actions were illegal but felt he needed to share the truth about how the Biden administration was misleading the public about the war in Ukraine.

“If I saved one American, Russian or Ukrainian life in this money-grabbing war, my punishment was worth it,” he said, his politicized comments a stark contrast to the contrite apology he issued at his federal sentencing.

Teixeira repeatedly referenced the “deep state” and suggested that he, like President Donald Trump, was a victim of a weaponized Department of Justice. Teixeira, who said he acted alone when he shared the documents in a geopolitical chat room on Discord, a social media platform popular with online gamers, then called on Trump and members of his administration to reverse his convictions.

“I am comfortable in how history will remember my actions,” he added.

Judge Vicki Marcus agreed to the plea deal and sentenced Teixeira to a dishonorable discharge and no jail time. She rejected a prosecution request for a written reprimand and a demotion in rank for him.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was already sentenced last year to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, following his arrest in the most consequential national security breach in years.

Military prosecutors said before the court-martial at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts that charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice were appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military.