Jack Teixeira, 21, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and the alleged leader of a Discord group at the center of a National Security Breach, has been identified and arrested by the FBI.
Teixeira was arrested without incident by an FBI SWAT team from the Boston Field Office at his home in North Dighton, Mass., about 20 miles east of Providence.
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“The FBI made an arrest and is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts,” the bureau said in a brief statement. “As this is an ongoing matter, we cannot provide further comment at this time.”
Teixeira is a Massachusetts Air National Guard member at Otis Air National Guard Base, assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing, with the rank of Airman 1st Class (A1C.) Teixeira has a Top Secret SCI (Sensitive Compartmentalized Information) security clearance that gives him full access to all intelligence.
Investigators say that Teixeira was responsible for the leaks on the Discord channel “Thug Shaker Central” under the nom de Guerre “Jackthedripper” The group comprised approximately two dozen members who discussed video games and guns.
Several months ago, between 50 and 100 classified documents referencing the U.S. involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war were posted on Thug Shaker Central. Making it the most significant security breach since the Edward Snowden leaks.
One channel member insisted to the New York Times that the leaker wasn’t a whistleblower and that he hadn’t meant for the sensitive materials to end up anywhere other than their group chat.
“This guy was a Christian, anti-war, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on,” one member told the paper. “We have some people in our group who are in Ukraine. We like fighting games, we like war games.”
The New York Times identified Teixeira as the suspected leaker on Wednesday.
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21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira has been arrested for leaking classified Pentagon Documents. How did a 21-year-old national guard member come in contact with classified documents in the first place?
pic.twitter.com/G3i07uD5tC— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) April 13, 2023
Helicopter footage shows Jack Teixeira, the suspect allegedly connected to the leak of classified documents, being taken into custody by federal agents in Massachusetts, right before AG Merrick Garland announced his arrest. https://t.co/gafnDgHvkn pic.twitter.com/pyXBmi8TIM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 13, 2023
Law enforcement & other Federal agents have made an arrest and searched the home of a 21-year-old Jack Teixeira member of the Air National Guard who is suspected of leaking secret U.S. documents related to the Ukraine war. pic.twitter.com/kwISgMDOLT
— ShotGunBonnie (@ShotGun_Bonnie) April 13, 2023
Investigators stated that Teixeira started sharing the documents with the group last year. Members then posted them on a second Discord channel and again to a more extensive third channel, which went public.
The National Guard said it knows the “alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents” from the Pentagon.
“The National Guard takes this issue very seriously and will support investigators,” the National Guard said in a statement. “National security is our foremost priority, and any attempt to undermine it compromises our values and degrades trust among our members, the public, allies, and partners.”
Teixeira is suspected of unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.
He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
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