More On: Pentagon Leaks
Pentagon has no idea how many more documents have been leaked
All to Know About the Alleged Pentagon Leaks
Who is Jack Teixeira? The leader of Online Group Where Pentagon Leaks
According to the New York Times, the leader of an online gaming club where confidential Pentagon leaks first allegedly emerged is Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman.
The paper — which was the first to report the existence of the leaks — identified him as a member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who oversaw a private online group named “Thug Shaker Central.”
Two US officials informed the Times that they want to speak with him about the leak, but neither the publication nor the officials referred to him as a "suspect."
According to one officer, Teixeira may have information important to the probe.
Hundreds of confidential military data were leaked in the tiny group chat, according to members of the group who referred to Teixeira as the "OG." The leaker was identified as "OG" by other members of the group, according to the Washington Post.
According to the paper, while the members of the group did not identify the group's head by name, "a trail of digital evidence compiled by The Times leads to Airman Teixeira."
The publication also stated that it used information gleaned from social media to connect Teixeira to information gleaned from leaked documents.
It was stated that Teixeira is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd Intelligence Wing and was honored on the unit's official Facebook page for being promoted to Airman First Class in July 2022.
The newspaper tracked down Teixeira's mother, "Dawn," and paid a visit to her house in Massachusetts. She informed the Times that her son was an Air National Guard member who had recently been working overnight shifts at a base on Cape Cod and had recently changed his phone number.
According to the newspaper, someone resembling Teixeira drove onto the property. When reporters from the Times approached Teixeira's mother and a guy in the driveway and inquired if he would be prepared to speak, the man answered, "He needs to get an attorney if things are going the way they are right now." I'm sure the Feds will show up soon.
Members of the group chat stated the documents they discussed online were meant to be informational, and they took no sides in the argument. They informed both the Times and the Post that the leaker was not a "whistleblower" and that the documents were never supposed to leave their group conversation. According to the Post, at least one of the members was under the age of 18.
However, one of the members, a 17-year-old, told the New York Times, "This guy was a Christian, anti-war, and just wanted to inform some of his friends about what's going on." Some members of our group are now in Ukraine. We enjoy battle games and war games."
When one of the members posted the documents to a public online form, they were picked up by Russian-language Telegram channels.
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland: “Today the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into an alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information,” Garland said during a press briefing.
“Teixeira is an employee of the United States Air Force National Guard. FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident. He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. I want to thank the FBI, the Justice Department prosecutors, and our colleagues at the Department of Defense for their diligent work on this case,” he added.
“This investigation is ongoing, we will share more information at the appropriate time,” Garland said.
NEW: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirms the FBI has arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, an airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, in connection with the classified Pentagon documents leak. https://t.co/5j74DNy4PE pic.twitter.com/OSYNSvUI4h
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 13, 2023
According to a source, its dissemination was reduced following the leak, and the Pentagon has now verified that its distribution has been modified.
