21-year-old Jack Teixeira was arrested yesterday on suspicion of being behind the US’s major leak of secret defense documents. During Friday morning, local time, he had the suspects presented to him in court. He is accused of “unauthorized handling and transfer of national defense information, as well as unauthorized removal of classified information and defense material.”, writes CNN. The federal judge in Boston ordered Teixeira to remain in custody – and the next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The top-secret documents leaked from the Pentagon have revealed information about, among other things, NATO, Ukraine and Russia. 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, who worked in the intelligence unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is singled out as the man behind the leak. The Pentagon has called the leak a “deliberate, criminal act”. Prosecutor Merrick Garland describes that the arrest of the 21-year-old was “connected to an investigation into the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transfer of classified information concerning the nation’s defense.” The FBI’s interrogation of “Thug Shaker Central” Jack Teixeira is the founder of a channel on the social media site Discord, where the leaked documents are believed to have first appeared. The group, named “Thug Shaker Central”, consists of between 20-30 young men who share an interest in guns, computer games and racist memes. Documents from an American court show that the FBI has interrogated several of the group’s members. There it appears that Teixeira may have leaked secret information already in December last year. A member says in questioning that the username linked to the 21-year-old first wrote out paragraphs from the secret reports. When the user then became worried about being discovered, he instead switched to sharing images of the documents. According to other members of the group, Teixeira shared the secret documents to impress the other members of the group. The US president, Joe Biden, commented on the leak during a state visit to Ireland last week. – I’m not worried about this leak… I’m worried that it could happen, he says. “I love you all” Jack Teixeira seems to have known that American authorities were looking for him, writes the New York Times. One of the members of the Discord group has reproduced what is described as Teixeira’s last message to the other members. “Guys, it’s been nice – I love you all. I never wanted it to be like this. I prayed to god that this would never happen. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only God can decide what happens next.” White House spokesman John Kirkby described earlier this week that the authorities did not know at the time whether the group had more sensitive information. – It is very sensitive, confidential information that is now out there for the public to see. It is unacceptable and risks harming our nation’s security, he says.
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