A 21-year-old US Air National Guardsman named Jack Teixeira was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in relation to the leakage of documents from the US Pentagon that interrupted international relations this week.
(Photo : STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
This photo illustration created on April 13, 2023, shows the Discord logo and the suspect, national guardsman Jack Teixeira, reflected in an image of the Pentagon in Washington, DC. - FBI agents on Thursday arrested a young national guardsman suspected of being behind a major leak of sensitive US government secrets.
Arresting Jack Teixeira
The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a member of the Air National Guard, at his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, for leaking highly classified documents from the US Department of Defense that contain confidential information related to national security.
Interesting Engineering reported that the 21-year-old Airman First Class was taken into custody to face charges after posting the documents on an online gaming chat group Thug Shaker Central in Discord.
About a half dozen agents pushed into his home with a town-engine government surveillance plane keeping watch overhead. Some of the agents arrived heavily armed as according to a person familiar with the investigation, Airman Teixeira was in possession of multiple weapons. Several guns were found at the house during the arrest.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland released a statement, announcing the arrest of Arim Teixeira that would be arraigned at the Federal District Court in Massachusetts. He noted, "This was in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information."
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The Guardian reported that this statement suggests that Airman Teixeira might face charges under the Espionage Act, with each charge under the act can carry up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors can also treat each document as a separate count to his indictment and could face a long jail sentence.
As per Pentagon Spokesperson Brig Gen Patrick Ryder, the agency has rules in place where each member signed a nondisclosure agreement. He added that this means that all of what Airman Teixeira have done is a criminal act.
Teixeira's Motive
According to a report from The New York Times, at least 300 documents were exposed in the group chat, including the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies' knowledge of the conflict.
Airman Teixeira worked in the intelligence section of the National Guard and leaked confidential documents to his Discord chat group, which includes twenty to thirty teenagers who mostly talked about gun appreciation, racist memes, and video gaming before it became an international intelligence scandal.
He was defended by the Thug Shaker Central group chat members as they stated that he was not a whistle-blower. Compared to the previous leaks, the documents were not shared with an apparent political goal but rather shared with the group only to gain a good impression.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden reacted to this leak and its impact. He stated, "I'm not concerned about the leak. I'm concerned that it happened. But there's nothing contemporaneous that I'm aware of that's of great consequence."
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