Published: Less than 10 min ago
Jack Teixeira, 21, was the uncrowned king of the gaming group “Thug Shaker Central”.
He wanted to impress his weapons-obsessed pals with top-secret documents he brought home from work.
Instead, he now risks 20 years in prison – accused of the “Pentagon leak”.
On Thursday, Jack Teixeira was arrested by the FBI. In red shorts and a t-shirt, he walked in the sunshine wearing handcuffs next to military-clad FBI agents with automatic weapons.
The solid action against 21-year-old Teixeira was carried out after he was singled out as responsible for the high-profile Pentagon leak.
The young man who worked for the US Air National Guard is accused of sharing top secret documents. Documents that could risk the security of the United States and create chaos in the country’s international relations – with both allies and enemies.
And all this has been spread because Teixeira wanted to impress his pandemic poles, writes New York Times.
Group: Thug Shaker Central
In the isolation during the corona year 2020, “Thug Shaker Central” was founded. A private server for invite-only members of the Discord chat platform.
Here, 20-30 gun-crazy young men and teenagers gathered to discuss their common interest, share memes, which were often racist, and play war games. A popular game in the group was “Project Zomboid” where the goal is to survive a zombie apocalypse.
– We became very close to each other, like a close-knit family. We depended on each other. There was no lack of love, says one of the group members Washington Post.
“The man, the myth, the legend”
Members of Thug Shaker Central have appeared in several online forums where they spread anti-Semitic and racist messages, according to the New York Times.
The uncrowned king and moderator of the group was Jack Teixeira, or “OG” as he was called internally.
– Everyone respected OG He was the man, the myth. And he was the legend, says a group member who goes by the alias “Vahki”.
Vahki describes Teixeira to the New York Times as an accurate shooter who used to trade weapons equipment with his companions in the gaming group.
Protection from a troubled world
Through his work in the Air National Guard, Teixeira managed to obtain the hundreds of classified documents that later caused a stormy sea around him and his Discord friends.
He began sharing the documents last fall. According to Discord members, Teixeira wanted to inform and impress the group, of which he was already the unofficial leader.
He took the documents home, photographed them and uploaded them.
– This guy is a Christian, he is against war, and just wanted to inform his friends about what was going on, says Vahki.
According to the Washington Post’s anonymous source, Teixeira thought he could protect his Discord buddies from the troubled world.
– He is a smart person. He knew what he was doing when he posted these documents, of course. These were not accidental leaks of any kind.
Wouldn’t come outside of Thug Shaker
However, the documents were not meant to make it outside Thug Shaker Central’s online walls. But everyone in the group doesn’t seem to have understood how much sensitive information they were inside.
In March, a young member spread them in another, public, Discord server. And from there they took on a life of their own. Documents were disseminated via the public Discord server “Minecraft Earth Map”, and in April documents appeared on the Telegram platform.
Teixeira, who seems to have understood the gravity of the situation, began shutting down his accounts on various forums. He also said goodbye to his online friends.
– He was very frightened. This is not exactly like an “oopsie-daisy – I’ll get a promise”. This is stuff that carries life in prison, says Vahki.
Risking 20 years
Later, Jack Teixeira was arrested on Maple Street in North Dighton, Massachusetts.
During Friday, the 21-year-old sat calmly in the courtroom in Boston. The prosecutor announced that he faces 20 years in prison for the two crimes he is accused of. He will be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, writes The Guardian.
He is accused of unauthorized dissemination and possession of information relating to national defense and unauthorized movement of classified documents or materials.