US Air National Guard Member Arrested for Leaking Confidential Documents

Federal agents apprehended Teixeira, dressed in sports shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers, at his home in Dighton, Massachusetts, a primarily forested town of 8,000 residents located about 80 km south of Boston.

An Embarrassing Disclosure for the United States

The arrest comes a week after the disclosures were widely publicized, raising concerns in Washington about the potential damage they could cause. This incident embarrassed the United States by revealing their spying on allies and alleged Ukrainian military vulnerabilities.

The document leak, mainly shared on social media, is considered the most serious security breach since the publication of over 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

Read also: Massive Leak of US Classified Documents: Investigation Underway

Profile of Jack Douglas Teixeira

Teixeira was an Airman First Class at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, according to his service record. He joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and held the position of “Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman”, a computer specialist.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters that Teixeira was wanted “in connection with an investigation into the alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified information concerning national defense.”

Consequences for Teixeira

The Department of Justice has not specified what charges will be brought against Teixeira, although they will likely involve criminal charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.

Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department prosecutor specializing in national security, said the likely charges could result in up to 10 years of imprisonment, even if Teixeira did not intend to cause harm.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that a Pentagon task force had “worked tirelessly to assess and mitigate any potential damage.” Teixeira is expected to appear in court on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Boston.

The Leaked Documents

Although the leak was only brought to the public’s attention after a New York Times article on April 6, journalists found evidence that the documents – or at least some of them – had been circulating on social media since March or even January.

Bellingcat, the Washington Post, and the New York Times traced the earliest appearance of the documents to an inactive server on the instant messaging site Discord. In a chat group on the site, Teixeira used the pseudonym OG and was admired by the group’s mostly young members, who shared a love for weapons and military equipment.

The Department of Justice opened a formal criminal investigation last week, following a recommendation from the Department of Defense, which called the leak a “deliberate criminal act”.

Reuters examined over 50 of the documents, labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret,” but did not independently verify their authenticity. The number of leaked documents is likely over 100.

Several countries have questioned the accuracy of some of the leaked documents, including the United Kingdom, which said there was “a serious level of inaccuracy” in the information. The leaks revealed information about allies such as Israel, South Korea, and Turkey.

US officials believe most of the documents are authentic. Some, however, appear to have been altered to show exaggerated estimates of Ukrainian losses on the battlefield in the war with Russia, as well as underestimated figures for Russian forces.