U.S. law enforcement arrest man suspected to be involved in Pentagon leak - media
U.S. investigators have identified and apprehended a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, who is believed to be the leader of a gaming online chat group in which publications of what’s alleged to be top secret Pentagon documents initially appeared.
That’s according to The New York Times, Ukrinform reports.
"Federal investigators on Thursday arrested a 21-year-old air national guardsman who they believe is linked to a trove of leaked classified U.S. intelligence documents," the report said.
National Guardsman in question, Jack Teixeira, is a member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and is tied to an online group where the leaked documents first appeared.
The group brings together 20 to 30 people over a shared passion for guns, racist memes, and video games.
U.S. Federal investigators spent several days in search for the person who shared top-secret papers online, but have not identified Teixeira or anyone else as a suspect.
The FBI declined to comment.
One member of the online group said he knew the person who "leaked" the information. He referred to the alleged culprit as "OG", he said.
The alleged suspect is older than the rest of the group and had access to intelligence documents through his office.
As reported, the New York Times published an article claiming that the Pentagon is investigating the leak of allegedly classified documents circulating on social media, which relate to plans for a counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A group of Bellingcat investigators found the original sources of leaked Pentagon documents that began appearing online as early as January 2023 on Discord servers.