StarAvisStarAvisStarAvis
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Literature
  • Science

Archives

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021

Categories

  • Articles
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Arts & Design
  • Biography
  • Books
  • Business
  • Celebrities
  • Economy
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environment
  • Europe News
  • Fact check
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • History
  • Internet
  • Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Medication
  • Movies
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Personal Finance
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Science
  • SEO
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top 10
  • Travel
  • TV
  • U.K News
  • U.S. News
  • World News
Reading: US arrests suspect behind leak of Pentagon documents
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
StarAvisStarAvis
Aa
  • World
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Fashion
  • Home
    • Home 1
    • Home 2
    • Home 3
    • Home 4
    • Home 5
  • Categories
    • Technology
    • Opinion
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • World
    • Science
    • Health
  • Bookmarks
  • More Foxiz
    • Sitemap
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
StarAvis > Latest > News > World News > US arrests suspect behind leak of Pentagon documents
NewsWorld News

US arrests suspect behind leak of Pentagon documents

StarAvis Desk
Last updated: 2023/04/23 at 2:39 AM
StarAvis Desk Published April 13, 2023
Share
7 Min Read
Jack Teixeira in a photo his mother posted on social media. (The Guardian)
SHARE

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old US air national guardsman, is believed to have led an online group where classified files appeared.

The FBI has arrested a 21-year-old air national guardsman in Massachusetts suspected of being responsible for the leak of US classified defense documents, which laid bare military secrets and upset Washington’s relations with key allies.

Jack Teixeira was arrested at his home in North Dighton by FBI agents. Helicopter news footage showed a young man with short dark hair, an olive green T-shirt, and red shorts being made for walking backward towards a team of agents standing by an armored vehicle dressed in camouflage and body armor, pointing their rifles at him.

He appears to be wearing red basketball shorts and a T-shirt. Photo: BBC

In Washington, the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, confirmed the arrest, saying Teixeira was being held “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.”

Garland said the national air guardsman would initially appear at the Massachusetts district court.

Teixeira is believed to have led an online chat group where hundreds of photographs of secret and top-secret documents were first uploaded from late last year to March. The online group called itself Thug Shaker Central, made up of 20 to 30 young men and teenagers brought together by an enthusiasm for guns, military gear, and video games. Racist language was a common feature of the group.

Former members of Thug Shaker Central have told the investigative journalism organization Bellingcatthe Washington Post and the New York Times that the documents were shared in an apparent attempt to impress the rest of the group rather than to achieve any particular foreign policy outcome.

In Ireland, Joe Biden sought to play down the breach’s impact. 

“I’m not concerned about the leak,” Biden insisted. “I’m concerned that it happened. But there’s nothing contemporary that I’m aware of that’s of great consequence.”

The Guardian has seen about 50 of the documents. But there are signs that many more were first posted on Thug Shaker Central. The New York Times had seen about 300 of the papers, only a fraction of which have so far been reported, indicating the national security damage could be worse than has been acknowledged.

The spokesman for the Pentagon, Brig Gen Patrick Ryder, said: “We have rules in place. Each of us signs a nondisclosure agreement, so all indications are that this is a criminal act.”

Part of the inquest into the leak will examine how a 21-year-old air national guardsman in Massachusetts could have access to top secret material vital to US and allied security interests, including battlefield deployments in Ukraine. The Pentagon said it was reviewing its policies on safeguarding classified material, including updating distribution lists and assessing how and where intelligence is shared.

“It’s important to understand that this is not just about DoD [defense department]. This is about the US government,” Ryder said. “This is about how we protect and safeguard classified information. We do have strict protocols in place, so anytime there is an incident anytime, there’s an opportunity to review that and refine it.”

In North Dighton, the woman believed to be Jack Teixeira’s mother, Dawn Dufault, previously Dawn Teixeira, and her husband, Tom Dufault, own a nursery called Bayberry Farm Flower Co. Calls to the company went to voicemail on Thursday. A message said the business is closed this week.

The company’s Facebook page had made mentioned Jack Teixeira in June 2021.

“Jack is on his way home today, tech school complete, ready to start his career in the Air National Guard!” a message said under a photograph of a ‘Welcome home’ balloon.

In December 2020, the company posted congratulating “Jack” on his 19th birthday beneath a picture of a person in a military-type dress.

Some of the newly reported leaked materials are documents showing knowledge of infighting between Russian intelligence and the defense ministry. In one paper written by the New York Times, US officials describe how the Federal Security Service (FSB) had “accused the defense ministry of trying to cover up the extent of Russian casualties in Ukraine.”

The FSB said the official statistics did not include the dead and wounded from the national guard or two powerful militias involved in combat, the Wagner mercenary force and fighters fielded by the Chechen Republic’s warlord leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. The US intelligence assessment was that the spat demonstrated “the continuing reluctance of military officials to convey bad news up the chain of command.”

According to the teenage member of the Thug Shaker group interviewed by the Washington Post, their leader, who he referred to as OG but is now thought to be Teixeira, “had a dark view of the government,” portraying the government, and particularly law enforcement and the intelligence agencies, as a repressive force. He ranted about “government overreach.”

The teenage group member was in touch with the man he called OG in the days leading up to his arrest and said he “seemed very confused and lost as to what to do.” “He’s fully aware of what’s happening and what the consequences may be,” he said. “He’s just unsure how to solve this situation … He seems distraught about it.”

In his final message to his fellow group members, the fugitive told them to “keep low and delete any information that could relate to him,” including any copies of the classified documents.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Follow us on Google News

You Might Also Like

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine

Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair

Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit

Russia’s termination of agreement triggers warning on Black Sea grain shipments

TAGGED: Pentagon documents, US
Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article China begins three days of military drills in Taiwan Strait
Next Article Fighting for power in Sudan leaves at least 56 dead
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Might Also Like

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine
News

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a cautionary message, emphasizing that the war in Ukraine may endure for an extended…

4 Min Read
Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death
World News

Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

Iran witnessed widespread protests on Saturday as people commemorated the first anniversary of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. The…

3 Min Read
The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair
News

The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair

Once a picturesque drive from Benghazi, the road to the Libyan city of Derna has become a haunting ordeal. Fields…

5 Min Read
Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit
Politics

Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit

Meeting in Russia's Far East Raises Concerns In a recent summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the United States…

4 Min Read
StarAvis StarAvis White

News

  • World
  • Advertise

Technology

  • Innovate
  • Gadget
  • PC hardware
  • Review
  • Software

Health

  • Medicine
  • Children
  • Coronavirus
  • Nutrition
  • Disease

Culture

  • Stars
  • Screen
  • Culture
  • Media
  • Videos

More

  • Fashion
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Health

Subscribe

  • Google News
  • Digital Subscription
  • Games
  • Cooking
Copyright 2011-2023 © StarAvis Network. All Rights Reserved.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Lost your password?