Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest Thursday of Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts suspected of leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine.
- What are the charges?: Teixeira, 21, is charged with the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information, Garland said. He will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
- Teixeira to appear in court Friday: Teixeira is expected to make his first court appearance Friday in Boston, a Justice spokesperson said.
- Who is Jack Teixeira?:Teixeira is an enlisted airman first class, a member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod. He is also the leader of an online chat group who has shared an interest in guns and racist memes.
Jack Teixeira: Airman arrested in Pentagon document leak worked in cyber systems
Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, who was arrested Thursday and charged in the Pentagon leak case, is an airman first class who joined the Air National Guard in September 2019, according to the Air Force.
He works for the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Otis Air National Guard Base. His job title is cyber transport systems journeyman.
He has been decorated with an Air Force Achievement Medal.
“FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident,” Garland said Thursday in a brief news conference announcing the arrest.
– Bart Jansen
Who is Jack Teixeira?:What we know about the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman and suspected Pentagon leaker
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Pentagon document leak: What sensitive information was revealed?
The leaked documents appear to be highly sensitive reports tied to the war effort in Ukraine, including data on military activities like U.S. drone spy planes in the area and Ukrainian forces’ use of ammunition. They appear to show how the U.S. views Ukrainian forces’ training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict, as well.
More than 100 U.S. documents were leaked in all. The files also contained sensitive, classified information about the war in Ukraine, Russian military activity, China and the Middle East.
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Pentagon document leak ‘a deliberate criminal act’
Teixeira oversaw a private Discord channel called Thug Shaker Central, according to multiple reports. The private chat group was comprised of about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teens, the reports say.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Thusday declined to comment on the investigation, referring questions to the Justice Department.
Stringent guidelines are in place to protect classified information and are under review, Ryder said. Everybody with a security clearance signs a non-disclosure agreement.
The leak, Ryder said, “was a deliberate criminal act.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is conducting daily meetings to review the scope and impact of the leaks and mitigation measures, Ryder said.
Past Pentagon document leak
Chelsea Manning was also low-level military intelligence analyst and found responsible for a massive leak of secrets. Manning was eventually convicted and sentenced to 35 years for leaking more than 700,000 classified documents, including battlefield reports on Iraq and Afghanistan and State Department cables, while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
Manning said the leaks were intended to expose wrongdoing. She was pardoned by President Barack Obama.
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