By Aaron Miller-
The F.B.I. has arrested a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard on Thursday in connection with the leak of dozens of highly classified documents containing an array of national security secrets, including the breadth of surveillance the United States is able to conduct on Russia.
Airman First Class Jack Douglas Teixeira(pictured), was taken into custody to face charges of leaking a trove of classified documents , after U.S federal authorities said he had posted batches of sensitive intelligence to an online gaming chat group, called Thug Shaker Central.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
The leak is believed to have started on Discord- a social media platform popular with people playing online games – where Teixeira is believed is known to have posted for years about guns, games and racist memes.
Investigative website Bellingcat and The New York Times publicly identified Teixeira minutes before federal officials announced he was a subject of interest in the investigation. They reported tracking profiles on other more obscure sites linked to Teixeira.
Up to a half-dozen F.B.I. agents swamped the home of Airman Teixeira’s mother in North Dighton, with a twin-engine government surveillance plane hovering above to maintain surveillance of the entire area.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
Law enforcement officials had received advance warning prior to the search that Airman Teixeira was in possession of multiple weapons. By the time the F.B.I. found guns at the house, they ahd already come prepared with armed personnel.
Pentagon spokesperson, Patrick Ryder, told reporters the leak of classified information was a “deliberate, criminal act”. He added that the Pentagon had taken measures to review distribution lists and make sure individuals who received information had a need to know.
The investigative website Bellingcat and The New York Times publicly identified Teixeira minutes before federal officials confirmed he was a subject of interest in the investigation. They reported tracking profiles on other more obscure sites linked to Teixeira.
Cyber Transport Systems Specialist
Airman Teixeira was trained as a cyber transport systems specialist, a job that could entail a variety of duties, such as keeping his unit’s communication networks running. He was assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, part of Joint Base Cape Cod, according to an Air Force spokeswoman.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the arrest at a brief statement in Washington, adding that Airman Teixeira would be arraigned at the Federal District Court in Massachusetts. Mr. Garland said he was arrested in connection with the “unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defence information,” a reference to the Espionage Act, which is used to prosecute the mishandling and theft of sensitive intelligence.
Investigators are examining why such a junior enlisted airman had access to such an array of potentially damaging secrets, and why adequate safeguards had not been put in place after earlier leaks.
It is unclear what the 21 year old’s objectives were, but The F.B.I. had Airman Teixeira on their radar for several days, tracking its own investigative clues as well as some of the same information that The Times and The Washington Post had developed about the Discord group where he had shared the documents, officials said.
Inconsequential
U.S President, Joe Biden, played down developments as not of great consequence when asked by reporters in Northern Ireland where he have a speech yesterday.
Speaking in Ireland on Thursday, Joe Biden sought played down the impact of the breach. “I’m not concerned about the leak,” he said. “I’m concerned that it happened. But there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that’s of great consequence.”
A user of Thug Shaker Central known as O.G. began uploading hundreds of pages of intelligence briefings into the small chat group. The group also discussed guns and military equipment, as well as the original subject of their group, video games.
As he posted the material, O.G. lectured the group’s members, who had bonded during the isolation of the pandemic, on the importance of staying abreast of world events.
Cyber Transport System Specialist
Airman Teixeira was trained as a cyber transport systems specialist, encompassing multiple duties, including keeping his unit’s communication networks running. He was assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, part of Joint Base Cape Cod, according to an Air Force spokeswoman.
The 102nd Intelligence Wing’s official Facebook page congratulated Airman Teixeira and colleagues on their promotion to airmen first class in July.
Airman Teixeira’s mother, Dawn, speaking outside her home in North Dighton on Thursday, confirmed that her son was a member of the Air National Guard and said he had recently been working overnight shifts at a base on Cape Cod. In the past few days, he had changed his phone number, she said.
When asked if Airman Teixeira was there and willing to speak, his stepfather, Thomas P. Dufault, said: “He needs to get an attorney if things are flowing the way they are going right now. The feds will be around soon, I’m sure.”
Teixeira was congratulated by the 102nd Intelligence Wing’s official Facebook page on their promotion to airmen first class in July.
A neighbor, Paul Desousa said he had frequently heard him fire weapons in the woods behind his house.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III was initially briefed on the leak on the morning of April 6. Pentagon officials tried to get some of the Telegram and Twitter posts showing pictures of some of the documents that initially came to light deleted, but they were unsuccessful.
Mr. Austin struggled to explain the late discovery of the leaks, long after they first surfaced on Discord.
“Well, they were somewhere in the web,” Mr. Austin said of the leaked documents. “And where exactly and who had access at that point, we don’t know. We simply don’t know at this point.”
Investigations will continue into how the young man managed to elude the authourities for as long as he did.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar