Jack Teixeira being led away by officers
Eko Hot Blog reports that Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard has been arrested over the leak of US defence and intelligence documents.
Teixeira is reported to be the leader of an online gaming chat group where the files were leaked.
During a press conference on Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrested the suspect at his home.
The arrest comes following a fast-moving search by the US government for the identity of the leaker who posted classified documents to social media platform, Discord.
Starting several months ago, at least 50 but perhaps more than 100 classified documents were posted on Discord.
Garland said Teixeira will be arraigned in federal court in Massachusetts.
Teixeira was first identified by The New York Times ahead of his arrest on Thursday as the leader of the group where a trove of classified documents had been posted.
Jack Teixeira
The leaked documents posted to social media include detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including on the state of the war in Ukraine and the challenges Kyiv and Moscow face as the war appears stuck in a stalemate.
Earlier Thursday, President Joe Biden said he was concerned about the fact the leaks happened, but not necessarily about their content.
“I’m not concerned about the leak. I’m concerned that it happened, but there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of any consequence,” he said.
US President Joe Biden
Biden was speaking in Dublin, where he is meeting the Irish president. It was the first time he commented on the leak.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the person, whom the story did not name, behind the leak worked on a military base and posted sensitive national security secrets in an online group of acquaintances.
The leaker was described in the Post story as a lonely young man and gun enthusiast who was part of a chatroom of about two dozen people on Discord that shared a love of guns and military gear, according to a friend of the alleged leaker the Post interviewed who was also part of the group.
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder confirmed Thursday that the Defense Department is taking steps to tighten the community of people who receive classified intelligence.
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