An Air National Guard Member Detained by the FBI in a Search for Leaked Documents that were Posted to Social Media on Thursday

A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection with the leaking of classified documents that have been posted online, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday.

The US government conducted a fast-growing search for the leaker of documents to a social media platform that was popular with video game players.

A detaining hearing was scheduled for Wednesday when the judge informed Teixeira of the charges he was facing. He will be kept in custody until that time. He did not enter a formal plea.

“The FBI is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at the residence,” the agency said. The FBI has aggressively pursued investigative leads and today’s arrest demonstrates our continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and put our security at risk.

The leaked documents posted to social media, some of which have been obtained by CNN, included 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.

The initial search for a suspect was hampered by the fact that thousands of people had access to the documents, but investigators were able to quickly narrow the hunt to potential members of the chat group with evidence collected in the days after the discovery of classified documents online.

According to a US official, the President of the United States was briefed every day over the past week on the investigation.

The Air Force Leashed National Security Secrets from an Airman Journeyman: John Powell reveals a Loading, Military-Familiar Hero

The Air Force on Thursday released details of the service record of Teixeira, who is an enlisted airman at the Massachusetts Air National Guard. He joined the service in September 2019 and his official job is Cyber Transport Systems journeyman. According to the Air Force, Cyber Transport Systems specialists are tasked with making sure the service’s “vast, global communications network” is “operating properly.”

On Wednesday, The Washington Post first reported that the person 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 – a social media platform popular with video gamers – 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.

Powell recalled Teixeira occasionally toting around a textbook on military vehicles – tanks, planes and submarines – and having a fascination with anything “military-related” from an early age.

John Powell, who also attended middle school and high school with Teixeira, said he recalled him as a pleasant and quiet kid who was sometimes picked on. He said he didn’t have many friends.

Teixeira grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island, according to public records. He graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth High School in 2020 according to the regional school district’s superintendent.

Teixeira didn’t behave in a manner that rose to the level where “people felt the need to report him,” another former classmate said, but “he made me nervous.”

The student said she was surprised by the allegations against him, because he had a fascination with the military as a form of American nationalism. “I didn’t think he would be capable of doing something like this,” she said.

The Defense Department Investigates the Leaky Air National Guardsman Teixeira, a 21-year-old US Navy Journeyman

Some US officials who used to receive the briefing materials daily have stopped receiving them in recent days, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the Pentagon’s Joint Staff continues to whittle down its distribution lists.

The Joint Staff, which consists of the Defense Department’s most senior uniformed leadership that advises the president, began looking at its distribution list after learning that there were a lot of leaked classified documents.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that he is directing the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security to review intelligence access, following the arrest of the Air National Guardsman.

The Pentagon is continuing to review a number of factors in order to safeguard classified materials. This includes examining and updating distribution lists, assessing how and where intelligence products are shared, and a variety of other steps.”

The criminal investigation is being led by the FBI’s Washington field office, including a team of counterintelligence investigators experienced in hunting leaks.

Pentagon officials and investigators are working together on a damage assessment which would be used in any prosecution that results.

The 21-year-old Massachusetts man arrested by the FBI on Thursday in connection with the leaking of a trove of classified US government documents had a fascination with the military, guns and war, several former high school classmates told CNN.

In his role as a Cyber Transport Systems journeyman, Teixeria would have been working on a network that carried highly classified information, according to a defense official, which is why he needed a security clearance.

Multiple US officials told CNN that there is a hidden chat room called ‘Tug Shaker Central’ that is headed by Teixeira, who is believed to be the person who posted classified documents online.

According to a Discord user interviewed by the FBI, Teixeira began posting information in December 2022, according to the affidavit, and began posting photos of documents around January 2023.

The suspect in the leak of classified Pentagon documents posted on social media has been charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials.

Jack Teixeira, 21, Arrived at the Boston Air Base Base for the First Time after his FBI Interference with the Discord Community

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, made his first appearance in federal court in Boston Friday morning following his arrest by the FBI in North Dighton, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

The courtroom was entered by Teixeira wearing a tan shirt and pants from the detainer center. He was in handcuffs when he entered the courtroom and his hands were not handcuffs when he sat at the defense table.

The Boston courtroom was full, including three people sitting on a bench reserved for family. He didn’t look at anyone when he entered the courtroom.

The unnamed individual who spoke to the FBI said that Teixeira told him that he was concerned about making the transcription at work so “he began taking the documents to his residence and photographing them.”

Four Discord users active in a different Discord chatroom where the documents later appeared told CNN the documents began circulating on Thug Shaker. Another user who was in the Thug Shaker chatroom told CNN they saw the original posts of classified documents but declined to speak further about them.

One official said that Biden was regularly briefed about the efforts of his top officials to engage with allies who were identified in the leaked information.

The impact of leaked documents was downplayed by Biden before the arrest. He told reporters that he was concerned, but that he was not aware of any significant ramifications from the event.