FBI agents on April 13 arrested a man suspected of being involved in the leak of classified documents, officials said.
Agents took Jack Teixeira, 21, into custody “without incident,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in prepared remarks from the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington.
Teixeira was arrested by agents at a home in North Dighton “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information,” Garland said.
Aerial footage showed about half a dozen heavily armed and outfitted FBI agents arresting a man wearing red shorts and a T-shirt.
An FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that agents took Teixeira into custody.
“The FBI is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at the residence. Since late last week the FBI has aggressively pursued investigative leads and today’s arrest exemplifies our continued commitment to identifying, pursuing, and holding accountable those who betray our country’s trust and put our national security at risk,” the spokesperson said.
President Joe Biden had said earlier Thursday that the government was “getting close” to finding the leaker or leakers after a “full-blown investigation” was launched by the Department of Justice earlier in April.
Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, could not be reached and it was not clear whether he’d retained legal counsel. He is expected to make his first court appearance in federal court in Massachusetts.
The National Guard declined to comment. The Massachusetts National Guard did not respond to inquiry.
Documents
Secret Pentagon documents relating to the Russia–Ukraine war were leaked earlier this year, appearing on platforms such as Discord, a messaging service popular with video game players.
Among the documents were estimated numbers of Russian and Ukrainian casualties that conflict with official estimates, including showing a lower number of Russian deaths than portrayed in public.
Another document showed that U.S. troops are in Ukraine.
U.S. officials have confirmed some of the details, including acknowledging that there are troops there.
But they’ve warned against disseminating the information.
