Pentagon Leaks: How the FBI tracked down and arrested Jack Teixeira, 21-year-old suspect in US intel leak
Pentagon Leaks: How the FBI tracked down and arrested Jack Teixeira, 21-year-old suspect in US intel leak
An intelligence leak dubbed the biggest in a decade, a breach of security that no one thought of, America’s alliances pushed to the brink — and on Thursday it all came to a dramatic end in Massachusetts.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrested 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts National Guard named Jack Teixeira at his home in North Dighton, a small southeastern Massachusetts town, on Thursday for allegedly leaking highly sensitive documents that entailed information about the Russia-Ukraine war, America’s spying activities on allies such as South Korea and Israel and much, much more.
His arrest came hours after President Joe Biden said the US is “getting close” in the investigation to finding the source of the largest government records leak in a decade.
Teixeira has been taken into custody and US officials say he will be charged under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to disseminate classified defence information. The 21-year-old is expected to make his first court appearance in Boston on Friday.
But, how did this arrest happen? How did the FBI track down the US Air Force official? Who is he and how did he have access to the information? What happens next?
We give you all the details about Jack Teixeira and his involvement in the biggest intelligence leak in a decade.
Who is Jack Teixeira?
Images released of Jack Teixeira post his arrest show a 21-year-old youthful, thin looking fellow — someone you wouldn’t think of as responsible for an intel leak.
Teixeira is an Airman First Class with the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. His official job title is Cyber Transport Systems journeyman — these are specialists that ensure the service’s vast global communications network works properly.
He joined the service in September 2019 and was promoted to airman first class in July.
Teixeira’s mother, Dawn, speaking outside her residence confirmed to the media that her son was a member of the Air National Guard and said he had recently been working overnight shifts at a base on Cape Cod. In the past few days, he had changed his phone number, she said.
How did the FBI track him down?
Since the leaks made headlines across the world — rattling capitals from Washington to Kyiv to Seoul — US officials have been trying to unearth the source behind the leak.
Bellingcat, an investigative website, and other media outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post revealed that even though the leaks made headlines a week ago after surfacing on famous social media platforms such as Twitter and Telegram, the leaks had actually started last year on other platforms such as Discord, famous for gamers, and 4Chan.
Just a day ago, the Washington Post had reported that the source of the leaks was a user identified as OG on a Discord server and he had worked on a military base. He was described by users of the server known as Thug Shaker Central to be a young, charismatic gun enthusiast with a love for god. One member of the group also was quoted as saying that OG was a “smart, fit person”. He knew what he was doing when he posted these documents. These weren’t accidental leaks of any kind,” a member had told the Washington Post.
The Washington Post report had also stated that OG, now believed to Teixeira, was sceptical of the US government and he believed that law enforcement and the intelligence community was a sinister force, hiding the truth from the public.
Federal authorities investigating the matter quickly sifted through all this data to land on the name of Jack Teixeira.
A CNN report quoting a government official said that Teixeira was then put under surveillance prior to his arrest by the FBI on Thursday. In fact, national security officials told TIME that the leaker hadn’t been careful, haphazardly photographing documents that had clearly been folded and smoothed out on a desk containing several objects, including a hunting magazine, a bottle of glue, and nail clippers. There were also date and time stamps on some of the documents, making it easier to identify when and how they had been printed.
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How did the arrest unfold?
Following their surveillance, armed FBI officials descended on North Dighton, a town of 8,000 people about an hour to the south of Boston.
Footage of his arrest, showed that as the authorities closed in on him, he was reading a book on his patio, seemingly unaware of what was about to happen.
Roads in the area were blocked by police officers while the arrest was taking place. A local resident, identified as Dick Treacy, told Reuters, “There were about six to eight army guys armed with rifles walking around.”
Teixeira’s arrest was broadcast across the US as news helicopters swooped in and they showed the 21-year-old in red shorts, with his hands behind his back, being placed by heavily-armed agents into an unmarked SUV.
The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents https://t.co/DVrF5o8NrN pic.twitter.com/8EtduBQile
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 14, 2023
The FBI said in a statement that its officers are “continuing to conduct authorised law enforcement activity at the residence” where he was arrested. US Attorney General Merrick Garland was also quoted as telling the media that Teixeira was arrested “without incident” and he will have an initial appearance in court.
What next?
Teixeira will now be presented before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Some officials believe he will be charged with the Espionage Act.
Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor, told the DailyMail that the likely charges could carry up to 10 years’ imprisonment, even if Teixeira did not intend to cause harm. “I think this is someone who is facing on the higher end of exposure for years in prison because the leaks were so damaging,” Van Grack said.
Teixeira’s arrest, however, is begging the question — how did the 21-year-old have access to such highly classified documents and what was his intention in leaking it. When asked about the access to such sensitive data, Pentagon spokesman, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, said it was the nature of the military to trust its very young service members with high and sometimes grave levels of responsibility, including high levels of security clearance.
Even as Teixeira awaits his fate, the US is already considering additional measures necessary to safeguard the nation’s secrets. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that rules on access to classified documents could be tightened as a result of the leak. He said he would “not hesitate to take any additional measures necessary to safeguard our nation’s secrets.”
“Every US service member, (Department of Defence) civilian and contractor with access to classified information has a solemn legal and moral obligation to safeguard it and to report any suspicious activity or behaviour,” he said.
Michael Butler, a professor of political science at Clark University who specialises in foreign policy and security studies, said the document leaks have underscored what may be a “systemic weakness” and vulnerability in the Pentagon.
“Information is highly decentralised [and] can be moved very easily and quickly at no cost,” Butler told The Hill, and actors “are able to exploit vulnerabilities in the system before the Department of Defence or intelligence agencies can close them again.”
The leak has put a spotlight on the vulnerabilities in US intelligence gathering and storage. While national security officials would be heaving a sigh of relief with the arrest of Teixeira, Washington will have to rebuild trust with alliances and also rethink the way they want to collect and store classified information.
With inputs from agencies
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