New Delhi: A week after it emerged that hundreds of documents marked as classified by the United States security agencies have been made available online, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a 21-year-old military base employee on suspicion of leaking them.
Jack Teixeira, an airman 1st class at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, was arrested “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorised removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information”, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland. He was picked up from a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts.
The documents, many labelled “Secret” and “Top Secret”, revealed the extent of the US surveillance of Russian military and intelligence agencies, the details of Washington’s spying on allies including South Korea, kicking up a storm in one of its closest South Asian allies. Pentagon termed the leak as a “very serious risk to national security”.
Here’s a one-stop guide to the controversy:
When were they leaked?
The documents were first shared in an invite-only Discord server months ago, as per reports in US media. It is believed that over 350 documents were shared over time, some of them as recent as an update on the Russia-Ukraine war on March 1, 2023.
The leak reached the public eye after it was shared on mainstream social media platforms like Discord and Telegram after being shared on certain other Discord groups. Here’s how a small online gamer community ended up at the center of a major US security breach investigation.
Who is the suspect?
Jack Douglas Teixeira has been identified as an airman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, stationed at the Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as per a report in The Washington Post. Local media reported that he works as a “cyber transport systems specialist”. This profile is similar to that of an IT specialist, with responsibilities including maintenance of cabling and hubs for military communications networks.
Teixeira comes from a long line of military veterans. A report in Cape Cod Times said that his stepfather had retired after 34 years of service in the same military base where he was working. His stepbrother is currently working there as well, it said, quoting Teixeira’s step-uncle.
What was the motive?
Members of the private Discord server, with whom Teixeira shared the documents, said that he is a patriot who wanted to share the information he had with his like-minded friends. While a comparison to US whistleblowers Edward Snowden or Chelsea Manning is inevitable, Teixeira’s friends have said that he had shared the documents with his online community of friends to educate them and did not intend to leak it to the public domain. He “just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on”, a member of the online group who identified himself as Vahki told The New York Times.
One of Teixeira’s online friends told the New York Times that in one of their most recent conversations, Teixeira appeared frantic. “I never wanted it to get like this. I prayed to God that this would never happen. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only God can decide what happens from now on,” he reportedly said.
What will happen to him now?
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the 21-year-old will be charged with removing or transmitting classified national defence information, a crime under the Espionage Act.
“Today, the FBI took 21-year-old Jack Douglas Teixeira into custody without incident at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts, for his alleged involvement in leaking classified US government and military documents,” the FBI said in a brief statement on its website. “Since late last week, the FBI has aggressively pursued investigative leads, and today’s arrest exemplifies our continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and put our national security at risk.”
What did the documents reveal?
Some of the major revelations were regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia: It suggested that the depth of the infighting inside the Russian government was broader and deeper than previously understood. In one document, American intelligence officials said that Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency (formerly known as KGB) had “accused” the country’s Defence Ministry “of obfuscating Russian casualties in Ukraine”.
Serbia: Serbia, the only country in Europe that has refused to sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, agreed to supply arms to Kyiv or has sent them already. Serbia’s Defence Minister Milos Vucevic dismissed the intel as “untrue” in a statement on Wednesday.
Ukraine: Details about Ukrainian air strikes, the country’s air defence vulnerabilities, and even the size of some Ukrainian military units.
Wagner group: Descriptions of a number of outreach efforts by the Russian mercenary group, including to Turkish “contacts”. Haitian government officials, and the organisation’s growing presence in Mali.
Middle East: Updates related to Iran’s nuclear activities as well as information about how the United Arab Emirates is in talks with Russia to help build a maintenance centre for some weapons.
China: Predictions about how China would respond to Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, along with the details about British plans in the Indo-Pacific region.
North Korea: Details about missile tests by Pyongyang and an assessment that a February parade likely oversold the ICBM threat to the United States.
South America: Information about Brazilian officials’ plan to visit Moscow in April to discuss a Ukraine mediation scheme.
Africa: An assessment that France is likely to struggle to achieve security goals in west and central Africa.
Agencies

KR Desk