A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard remains in custody after he was charged in connection with the release of hundreds of classified documents to an online gaming chat server, while prosecutors disclosed that a social media platform provided information that led to the suspect.
Airman 1st Class Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, was arraigned Friday in federal court in Boston on two charges: unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials, according to the indictment.
The images “appear to depict government information that was used to inform senior military and civilian government officials at the Pentagon,” an FBI agent wrote in the criminal complaint that was filed Friday.
On April 10, FBI agents interviewed a member of an online chat room on the social media platform Discord, which Airman Teixeira reportedly supervised, called “Thug Shaker Central.” About 20-30 participants were part of the group and would often discuss topics such as “geopolitical affairs and historical wars,” according to the criminal complaint.
The Discord platform provided information about the chat room administrator, identifying him as Jack Teixeira, who lives in North Dighton, Massachusetts, located about 40 miles south of Boston. On Thursday, he was taken into custody by FBI agents.
FBI agents said he was assigned to an Air National Guard base in Massachusetts and had been copying classified documents by hand that detailed the status of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including details about troop movements.
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“He had become concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of texts in his workplace,” the FBI said. “He began taking the documents to his residence [and] photographing them.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday, “This is not just about taking home documents. That is of course itself illegal. But this is about the transmission, both the unlawful retention and the transmission of the documents. Everyone knows here that the documents in the end were transmitted.”
President Biden said his administration is working to determine “the validity” of the leaked documents.
“I have directed our military and intelligence community to take steps to further secure and limit distribution of sensitive information, and our national security team is closely coordinating with our partners and allies,” he said in a statement.
FBI agents said Airman Teixeira used his government computer on April 6 to search classified intelligence information for the word “leak.” They said it appeared he was searching for any information about the ongoing effort to find the source of the leaks.
Pentagon officials said they are continuing to investigate how he apparently managed to access high-level information intended for senior leaders in the Defense Department.
• Joseph Clark contributed to this story.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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