US state secrets leak: 21-year-old soldier who managed chat group arrested | War Ukraine and Russia

For weeks, documents attributed to US agencies that allegedly contain classified information about Russia’s war against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet. Its disclosure poses “a very serious risk” to US national security, according to the Pentagon, and the US Justice Department launched a large-scale investigation last week into the source of the leaked state secrets.

Teixeira was arrested today in North Dighton, a small rural town south of Boston. According to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, the arrest went “without problems” and the man will be arraigned later in the day. Teixeira will be charged under the Espionage Act, according to Garland. It criminalizes the unauthorized removal, retention, and transfer of documents related to national defense that could be used to harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary. There will be a separate charge for each leaked document. A conviction carries a prison sentence of up to ten years per charge.

The New York Times reports that Jack Teixeira was the leader of Thug Shaker Central, an online chat group on Discord in which some 20-30 members shared their love of guns, racist memes and video games. A few months ago, according to authorities, one of the participants in the group uploaded hundreds of pages of intelligence briefings to the chat group, conveying the importance of staying up to date with what is happening in the world.

The New York Times spoke to four members of Thug Shaker Central. None of them wanted to name the leader of the group, but according to the newspaper, all traces lead to Teixeira. For example, details in the margins of some photos of the leaked secret documents match details in photos taken at Teixeira’s home and shared on social media.

LOOK. Who is believed to be responsible for the Pentagon leaks and how did he access the documents?