A 21-year-old man named Jack Teixeira has been arrested by US authorities for allegedly leaking classified US government and military documents through a Discord server.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Teixeira from his residence in Massachusetts, stating that it had been aggressively pursuing investigative leads since last week when the classified information was shared on social media channels.
The investigations moved particularly quickly over the past 24 hours after The Washington Post revealed that the materials came from a closed chat group on Discord before being leaked more broadly. Discord has stated that it is cooperating with the investigation.
The US Department of Justice has disclosed that Teixeira is an employee of the United States Air Force National Guard, and he is reportedly in the intelligence wing. The FBI has said that the arrest exemplifies its continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray the country’s trust and put national security at risk. Teixeira will have an initial appearance at the US District Court.