Guardsman arrested in connection with leak of classified documents
A 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested on Thursday afternoon as part of the investigation into a leak of classified U.S. intelligence documents.
The individual, identified as Jack Teixeira of Dighton, Massachusetts, is a member of the guard's intelligence wing, The New York Times reports. He had a junior role, but could access the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, a computer network for top-secret information, a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
Investigators said the leaked documents — which included classified material on the war in Ukraine, Russia, and Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad — were first shared with members of a Discord group named Thug Shaker Central. Teixeira oversaw this group, which started in 2020 and had between 20 and 30 members, mostly young men and teenage boys who are "united by their mutual love of guns, military gear, and God," the Post reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hundreds of documents were uploaded to the group, authorities said, and members of Thug Shaker Central told the Times that the material was supposed to stay in their small Discord group; the documents gained widespread attention when a member posted them to a public online forum.
When announcing Teixeira's arrest, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was detained "without incident" for "alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information." A Justice Department official told the Times that Teixeira is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Boston on Friday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘We feel closer to their struggles and successes’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
SNAP aid uncertain amid court rulings, politicsSpeed Read Funding for additional SNAP benefits ran out over the weekend
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
