Last Updated: April 14, 2023, 00:45 IST
U.S. national security agencies and the Justice Department are investigating the release to assess the damage to national security and relations with allies and other countries, including Ukraine. (Image: AFP)
Teixeira was allegedly responsible for managing a group called Thug Shaker Central on Discord, a popular website for gamers
Multiple US media sources have reported that Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the leak of classified documents.
Teixeira was allegedly responsible for managing a group called Thug Shaker Central on a popular gamer website Discord, where over 100 classified documents, including information on Ukraine and intelligence gathered from spying on allies, were shared.
ABC News reported that the FBI made a “probable cause” arrest of a man identified by authorities as a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
US media aired footage from North Dighton, Massachusetts showing the detainee in shorts with his hands behind his back and being placed by agents into an unmarked vehicle.
The New York Times was the first to identify Teixeira ahead of his arrest Thursday as the leader of the group where a trove of classified documents was posted.
The newspaper identified him as Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
Less than a week since news of highly classified military documents surfaced, US national security agencies and the Justice Department are probing the release to assess the damage to national security and relations with allies.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden indicated that the US government was close to identifying the suspect.
“There’s a full-blown investigation going on, as you know,” Biden said during a visit to Ireland. “The intelligence community and the Justice Department. And they’re getting close. I don’t have an answer for you.”
(With agency inputs)
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