Who is Jack Teixeira, 21-year-old arrested for leaking Pentagon secrets

Jack Teixeira shared sensitive military information on a Discord group

FBI agents on Thursday arrested a 21-year-old national guardsman suspected of being behind a major leak of sensitive US government secrets. The arrested US Air National Guardsman was identified as Jack Teixeira, who now faces espionage charges for sharing classified military documents in an online gaming chatroom – an act that led to his televised arrest.

The security breach revealed sensitive military intelligence about the war in Ukraine and pointed to US spying on allies, including Israel and South Korea.

Here is what we know so far about 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, the US Air National Guardsman accused of leaking sensitive government secrets online:

Jack Teixeira was a member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. His official job title was Cyber Transport Systems journeyman, which the BBC identified as a “relatively junior” position.

In his role as Cyber Transport Systems journeyman, Teixeira was essentially an IT specialist who was responsible for military communications networks. In that role Teixeira would have had a higher level of security clearance because he would have also been tasked with responsibility to access and ensure protection for the network, a defense official told the AP.

This is how, despite his junior position, Teixeira had high levels of security clearance which allowed him access to top secret government documents.

According to The New York Times, a "trail of digital evidence" pointed to Teixeira as the leader of the private group on Discord, called Thug Shaker Central, where the documents surfaced. The US airman was something of an unofficial leader of the Discord group, where members posted racist memes, talked about God and guns, and discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

One member of the group who spoke to the Associated Press said Teixeira appeared to be an observant Christian who often spoke of God and prayed with members of the chat group.

A former classmate of Teixeira said he was surprised to learn of his arrest and described him as a quiet guy. “He's a good kid, not a troublemaker, just a quiet guy,” said Eddy Souza, who went to school with the airman. “It sounds like it was a stupid kid's mistake.”

Teixeira’s stepfather, Master Sgt. Thomas P. Dufault, had served in the same military where Teixeira was working. He retired after 34 years of service. His mother, Dawn Teixeira, runs a flower shop.

(With inputs from agencies)