He is accused of involvement in the leak of secret documents of the Pentagon, he is 21 years old and is an employee of the intelligence unit of the US Air National Guard. The secret Pentagon documents that have been leaked to the public domain cover, among other things, sensitive topics about the war in Ukraine and other national security issues. This leak of information is already qualified as the biggest and most serious in the last decade, writes the BBC.
Teixeira’s friends say they see him neither as a political activist nor as a whistleblower. Why, then, did a relatively low-ranking airman, with no apparent motivation, end up leaking classified documents online?
Jack Teixeira, 21, is a member of the US Air National Guard Reconnaissance Unit in Massachusetts. The young man joined the Guard in 2019 and began his career as a junior specialist in cyber transport systems.
Already at the beginning of his career, Teixeira had access to secret information: in fact, he was an IT specialist dealing with military communications networks and ensuring their protection.
The love of guns and international politics
According to the New York Times, in his spare time, Teixeira managed a small online community of 20-30 people called Thug Shaker Central, whose members were mostly young men and teenagers, united by their love and interest in guns , video games and memes online (some even racist). This group met Discord platform, very popular among players, there Teixeira was active for several years and was known under the pseudonym OG. By the way, several dozen secret documents from the Pentagon have been posted on this platform – again
Some of the group members said that OG often flaunted his knowledge of American secrets, although this was believed to be more of an empty boast. One of the chat participants describes Teixeira as a young, charismatic gun lover. Jack was known to be older than most of the group and sought to impress them. Community participants quoted by The Guardian said OG had a penchant for lecturing them on international politics and covert government operations.
Court in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Teixeira trial is taking place
THE EMPICS
“This guy seemed like a kind Christian with anti-war views. He just wanted to tell his friends about what is happening in the world,” says one of the group members. “There are people from Ukraine in our circle. We are all united by our passion for military strategies and shooting games,” he also revealed. The Associated Press writes that members of the group not only discussed the war in Ukraine, but also often prayed together.
Perhaps Teixeira wasn’t just interested in international politics and online gaming: In a video published by the Washington Post, a man identified as OG is filmed at a shooting range with a rifle, shouting racist and anti-Semitic slurs at the camera.
The media also wrote that Jack used various pseudonyms online. According to chat participants, when Jack started posting documents to the online group, he was extremely upset that no one was reading or commenting on them. According to the Washington Post, he once even sent an angry message to the group, berating his online friends for being more interested in YouTube videos than classified documents. “He was offended and repeatedly said that if you continue to ignore these files, I will stop uploading them,” a member of the group told the paper.
“Not a hooligan, but an ordinary quiet man”
Teixeira’s family is connected to the military: his stepfather served in the army for 34 years, and Jack’s friends say that the young man wanted to join the armed forces since childhood. Jack’s mother also worked for non-governmental organizations that help veterans. According to The Guardian, Teixeira’s mother, Don, now owns a flower shop in Dayton, Massachusetts, where Teixeira lives. The Guardian called the phone number it said was the store’s, but the answering machine answered that the store was closed this week.
Jack Teixeira was mentioned on the Facebook page of the company that owns the store in June 2021. “Jack is coming home today. He graduated from technical school and is ready to start his career in the Air National Guard!” – write a message under a picture of a balloon with the inscription “Welcome home”.
NYT reporters were able to contact Teixeira’s mother, however, and she confirmed that her son is in the Air National Guard, adding that he changed his phone number a few days ago.
Teixeira surrendered to the special forces who came to arrest him without resisting
Reuters
Dayton is a small city of 8,000 people located about an hour south of Boston. Jack studied at the school in this town. Eddie Souza, his schoolmate, told Reuters he was surprised his former classmate was accused of stealing and leaking classified information. “He’s a good man, not a hooligan, but a quiet, ordinary man,” Sousa said. “It all seems like a failed childish trick.”
And the family’s neighbors say Jack is “a nice guy with a head on his shoulders”.
Access to secrets
As stated in the indictment filed in court by the US government, Jack Teixeira had access to secret documents from 2021.
On Friday, Teixeira appeared in court in Boston on charges of leaking classified information from the Pentagon.
According to testimony given by FBI Special Agent Patrick Lukenhoff, Teixeira was required by the nature of his job to give a lifetime written agreement not to disclose classified information and to confirm that he was aware of criminal liability for the unauthorized dissemination of classified information.
A government agency that monitors the flow of classified documents found that in February 2023, Teixeira had access to at least one such document a day before it was released to the public on the Internet. Investigation documents also show that in early April, the accused sent requests from his work computer with the search request for secret intelligence reports and the word “leak”.
A new request of the same kind followed immediately after the first reports of leaks of secret documents appeared.
Authorities also say that suspect Teixeira searched the reports for classified information about who the intelligence services suspected of leaking classified data.
Jack Teixeira was arrested by the FBI on Thursday near his family’s home in Daytona. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, he was picked up by armed agents. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the suspect did not resist, but also did not provide details about the leak or his motives.
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p class=”mb-8 px-6 md:px-0 font-bitter text-s17-l170 md:text-s18-l170 text-c121212″>On Friday, Teixeira, 21, appeared in court in connection with the leak of top-secret military documents on the Ukraine war and other US national security issues.
