FBI arrests suspected leaker of top secret Pentagon files in Massachusetts
FBI investigators have arrested Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old suspected of being behind the biggest US intelligence leak in nearly a decade.
Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that the National Guardsman had been arrested in North Dighton, Massachusetts ‘without incident’.
He said Teixeira will appear in a local court as part of the investigation into ‘alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmissions of classified national defense information.’
He was a member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and the leader of an online chat group where top secret Pentagon documents were published.
It is the most embarrassing security breach for any US administration since WikiLeaks obtained more than 700,000 classified documents and diplomatic cables in 2013.
His identity was first revealed by the New York Times after a scandal-hit week for US President Joe Biden as the secret dossiers circulated online.
The inside of Teixeira’s childhood home in Bristol, Massachusetts, matched photos of the sensitive files on US intelligence and the Ukraine war which have been shared on forums since the end of last year, according to the Times.
The FBI now wants to question Teixeira, whose mother Dawn confirmed to the Times that he is an active member working out of a base in Cape Cod and has been taking more night shifts.
A spokesman for the US Justice Department declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.
But a National Guard spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents.’
The revelation comes after President Joe Biden said during the third day of his Ireland trip that investigators were ‘getting closer’ to finding out the source.
