(Trends Wide Spanish) — A new document leak scandal has rocked the intelligence community in recent days over the illegal activity of a 21-year-old man who worked at a Massachusetts military base. The suspect was identified as Jack Texeira, who was arrested this Thursday by security forces.
Texeira, who was initially described by The New York Times as a video game fan who had a private group on the Discord platform, is suspected of leaking classified documents that sent tremors through the intelligence community, strained US relations with governments foreigners and jeopardized valuable information about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The posts that leaked on social media were photos of crumpled documents placed on top of magazines and surrounded by other random objects, such as zip-top bags and Gorilla glue. It’s as if they were hastily folded and put in a pocket before being removed from a safe place, a source familiar with such documents told Trends Wide.
Trends Wide reviewed 53 leaked documents, all of which appear to have been created between mid-February and early March.
They accuse Jack Texeira of this leak of classified documents, who turned himself in to the authorities this Thursday: he appeared dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, dark socks and brown boots, surrounded by security agents, while walking with his hands handcuffed, after being arrested at his home in North Dighton, Massachusetts.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Texeira was arrested in connection with the alleged unauthorized extraction, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.
A photo of Jack Texeira taken from Instagram.
What do we know about Jack Teixeira
Jack Teixeira is a 21-year-old who worked at a Massachusetts military base.
He grew up in suburban Providence, Rhode Island, according to public records. She attended Dighton-Rehoboth High School, where she graduated in 2020, the regional school district’s superintendent said.
His mother runs a flower business and often praised her son’s military career on her company’s Instagram account.
Teixeira is believed to be the leader of the chat group where the documents were released, several US officials told Trends Wide.
The Washington Post newspaper described him on Wednesday, before his arrest and before his identity was revealed, as a lonely young man with a gun enthusiast. In the Discord group, Texeira shared his love of weapons and military equipment, The Washington Post reported, citing an interview with a friend of the leaker who was also part of the group.
His career as a military
The Air Force published some details of Teixeira on Thursday, describing him as an aviator who joined the service in September 2019, according to his record. He had recently been promoted to Airman 1st Class, according to a Facebook post from the 102nd Intelligence Wing.
His job is to be a cyber transportation systems officer. According to the Air Force, cyber transportation systems specialists are tasked with making sure the service’s “great global communications network” is working properly.
The rank of Airman 1st Class is an airman’s third enlisted rank. According to his record, Teixeira earned an Air Force Achievement Medal, a relatively standard medal among airmen of that age and rank.
The leaks
According to The Washington Post’s report, the leaker, who went by the nickname “OG” in the group, began posting messages to the Discord chat room last year. These referred to military jargon, the newspaper reported. In the months that followed, the leaker posted messages appearing to transcribe classified information from US documents, according to the report.
The Discord chat room, or “server,” disappeared from the internet after news of the leaks broke last week, according to a Trends Wide review of the servers. Discord users later posted some of the documents on another invite-only server.
Some Discord users thought the documents were fake because they didn’t think anyone would be cheeky enough to post them online, according to a Trends Wide review of messages on the platform.
Arrest of Jack Teixeira.
Following his arrest, the FBI searches Teixeira’s home in North Dighton, Massachusetts for evidence.
Garland added that Teixeira will be prosecuted in federal court. “This investigation is ongoing. We will share more information at the appropriate time,” he added, declining to answer questions.
The leaker is expected to appear in court on Friday in Boston, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
— With reporting from Trends Wide’s Kevin Liptak, Jeremy Herb, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Evan Perez and Zachary Cohen.
