The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a 21-year-old US Air Force National Guard member over the leak of classified documents that revealed military secrets of America as well as its relations with allies, reported the BBC and Guardian. The suspect, Jack Teixeira, is reported to be the leader of an online gaming chat group where the files were leaked. As per the BBC’s report, the US officials said he will be charged under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to transmit or share classified defence information.
The Guardian mentioned that Teixeira was arrested at his home in the town of North Dighton by FBI agents. Citing footage post his arrests, the report said that helicopter news footage showed him being made to walk backwards towards a team of agents standing by an armoured vehicle dressed in camouflage and body armour, pointing their rifles at him.
The US attorney general Merrick Garland confirmed the arrest, saying Teixeira was being held “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defence information”, reported The Guardian.
He added that air national guardsman would make an initial appearance at the Massachusetts district court in Boston.
Jack Teixeira & His Online Chatting Group
According to a BBC report, Teixeira joined the force in 2019 and was enlisted in the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, which is a reserve of the US Air Force. He was promoted last July to a relatively junior position, Airman 1st Class. He was based at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod, the report added.
According to his service record, BBC mentioned in the report, his official title is Cyber Transport Systems journeyman. It added citing Air Force's official website notes that personnel assigned to Cyber Transport Systems jobs are responsible for operating the Air Force's huge global communications network, which links units operating both in the US and overseas.
Jack Teixeira was part of a private online group with posts about video games, guns, memes - and highly classified US files. As per Guardian, he was believed to have been the leader of the online chat group where hundreds of photographs of secret and top-secret documents were first uploaded, from late last year to March. The group called itself Thug Shaker Central, made up of 20 to 30 young men and teenagers. The report said that racist language was a common feature of the group.
Reports said that Teixeira's family reportedly has a long history of military service. His stepfather, Thomas Dufault, retired after 34 years of service, according to the Washington Post, reported BBC. His last posting was as a master sergeant from Teixeira's unit, the 102nd Intelligence Wing.
It added that his mother, Dawn Dufault, has previously worked in non-profits focused on veterans, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services.
The Guardian stated that former members of Thug Shaker Central told the investigative journalism organisation Bellingcat, the Washington Post and the New York Times that the documents were shared in an apparent attempt to impress the rest of the group. They said the documents were not shared to achieve any particular foreign policy outcome.
The Leaked Documents
Several months ago, over hundreds of classified documents were posted on a social media platform with gamers- Discord, as mentioned in the BBC and Guardian’s respective reports.
The documents reportedly contain a range of intelligence assessments about the war in Ukraine, but also sensitive intelligence about countries around the world, including US allies.
BBC cited a defence department spokesman as saying that the Pentagon is continuing to work to "understand the scope, scale and impact of these leaks".
In a statement, Republican congressman Mike Turner - the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee – had vowed to "examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks".