Affidavit explains how leak suspect allegedly took documents

After a national guardsman was arrested for leaking Pentagon documents, US government agencies have been left red-faced. Before being presented in court, a team of heavily armed FBI agents detained the 21-year-old. New details have surfaced regarding how the largest data breach in ten years was handled, despite the fact that his motives remain a mystery.

The damage caused by the leaks, which revealed Washington's spying on allies and records detailing alleged details of Ukrainian military vulnerabilities, is still being evaluated by US officials.

Jack Teixeira: who is he?


Teixeira was a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard team that reports to the governor of their state or territory. He had been an Airman 1st class stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base and had worked as an IT specialist as a "Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman."

According to an affidavit that was made public on Friday, Teixeira not only had a security clearance that was classified as "top secret," but he also had "sensitive compartmented access (SCI)" since 2021, which allowed him to access a lot of highly classified information.


How did the FBI come across him?


According to reports, the FBI's acquisition of Discord billing records had aided in locating Teixeira. He has been accused of unlawfully replicating and communicating ordered safeguard records. President Joe Biden said the public authority was attempting to decide "the legitimacy" of the spilled reports.


His search for the word "leak" in a classified system on April 6 – the day The New York Times first published a story about the breach of documents – also helped the FBI locate Teixeira.


What took place on the server for discord?


It is still unknown how he is said to have obtained the documents or what security measures were in place.


The affidavit says that around December 2022, Teixeira started posting classified information on social media. While conversing with a group of young people via a Discord server devoted to guns and ammunition, he shared the documents. The private server used to be called "Thug Shaker Central" at one point.


Two server members were cited in a Washington Post report as saying that the chatroom had been a place for outrageous remarks and dark humor. The gathering likewise had a running conversation on wars that included conversation about Russia's intrusion of Ukraine. A person who addressed AP likewise said that Teixeira — was a perceptive Christian who frequently discussed God and supplicated with individuals from the visit bunch.

The person who participated in that discussion claimed that "the O.G." would post material that he claimed to be classified for months, initially typing it out with his own notations and then switching to posting images of folded papers a few months later because he believed his writings were not being taken seriously.


A different group member shared some of the files a few weeks ago in a different chat group, and it appears that they have since spread all over the Internet.


(With assistance from organizations)