FBI arrests Massachusetts Air National Guard member in leak of classified Pentagon documents

A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents on the war in Ukraine was taken into custody on Thursday by federal agents, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced.

Investigators believe that the guardsman, who specializes in intelligence, led the online chat group where the documents were posted.

Garland identified the guardsman as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, and said he would be charged with the unauthorized removal of classified national defence information.

FBI agents converged Thursday at Teixeira's Massachusetts home, and heavily armed tactical agents took a man wearing a T-shirt and shorts into custody outside the property.

It was not immediately clear if Teixeira had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf, and a phone message left at a number believed to belong to his mother was not immediately returned.

WATCH | Announcement ofthe arrest:

U.S. attorney general announces arrest in leaked documents case

2 years ago

Duration 0:42

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says 21-year-old Jack Teixeira will be charged with the unauthorized removal of classified national defence information.

The emergence of Teixeira as the primary suspect is bound to raise questions about how the highest-profile intelligence leak in years one that continues to unfold with almost daily revelations of highly classified documents could have been caused by such a young, low-ranking service member.

The Biden administration has scrambled for days to contain the fallout from the leaked information, which has publicized potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine's air defence capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters.

'A criminal act'

The National Guard did not confirm his identity but said in a statement, "We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly classified documents."

Air force Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, referred all questions about the case to the Justice Department. But he said,"We have rules in place. Each of us signs a nondisclosure agreement. This is a criminal act, a willful violation of those."

The Biden administration has been working to assess the diplomatic and national security consequences of the leaked documents since they were first reported last week. A top Pentagon spokespersontold reporters earlier this week that the disclosures present a "very serious risk to national security," and the Justice Department opened an investigation to identify the person responsible.

U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters in Ireland on Thursday that though he was concerned that sensitive government documents had been disclosed, "there's nothing contemporaneous that I'm aware of that is of great consequence."

Online gaming platform

It's possible the leak may have started on a site called Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. The Discord site hosts real-time voice, video and text chats for groups and describes itself as a place "where you can belong to a school club, a gaming group, or a worldwide art community."

In one of those forums, originally created to talk about a range of topics, members would debate the war in Ukraine. According to one member of the chat, an unidentified poster shared documents that the poster claimed were classified, first typing them out with the poster's own thoughts, then, as of a few months ago, uploading images of folded papers.

Discord has said it was co-operating with law enforcement.

There are only a few ways the classified information that was leaked could have been accessed, which may provide critical clues as to who is responsible. Typically in classified briefings, as with the slides that were placed on Discord, the information is shared electronically.

That is done either through secure computer terminals where users gain access based on their credentials or through tablets that are distributed for briefings and collected afterward. If the slides need to be printed out instead, they can only be sent to secured printers that are able to handle classified documents and that keep a digital record of everyone who has requested a printout.

It's those digital clues like the record of printouts that may help investigators home in on who took the documents. In most of the photographs of documents posted online the pictures are of paper copies that look like they had been folded into quarters almost as if they'd been stuffed into someone's pocket.

In the days since the leaks came to light, the Pentagon has deferred questions on the investigation to the Justice Department, stating that it's a criminal matter.