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15-04-2023
WASHINGTON: A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) yesterday in connection with the leaking of classified documents that have been posted online, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced.
The arrest of Jack Teixeira, 21, comes following a fast-moving search by the US government for the identity of the leaker who posted classified documents to a social media platform popular with video gamers.
Teixeira was arrested in Massachusetts without incident, Garland said, and will be arraigned in federal court there. “This investigation is ongoing. We will share more information at the appropriate time,” the attorney general said, declining to answer questions. Teixeira will first appear in court on Friday in Boston, according to the US attorney’s office there.
The FBI said in a statement that it took Teixeira into custody “at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts, for his alleged involvement in leaking classified U.S. government and military documents.”
“The FBI is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at the residence,” the agency said. “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 leaked documents posted to social media, some of which have been obtained by media, included detailed 
intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries alike, including on the state of the war in Ukraine and the challenges Kyiv and Moscow face as the war appears stuck in a stalemate.
Multiple US officials told media that Teixeira is believed to be the leader of the group where a trove of classified documents had been posted.
The search for the suspect began with thousands of people who had access to the documents, but investigators were able to quickly narrow the search to potential members of the chat group with evidence collected in the days immediately following the discovery of classified documents online by US officials.
While there’s a large number of people who had access to the documents, investigators were able to home in on a small number for closer scrutiny thanks to the forensic trail left by the person who posted the documents.
Teixeira was under surveillance for at least a couple of days prior to his arrest by the FBI on Thursday, according to a US government source familiar with the case.
Earlier Thursday, President Joe Biden appeared to suggest that the US government was close to identifying the leaker. Biden was then briefed on the arrest in between his speech to parliament and his departure for a banquet 
dinner in his honor at Dublin Castle, according to a US official. He was at the hotel for roughly 90 minutes in between the two events.
Biden has been regularly briefed on the investigation, officials said, as well as the efforts by his top officials to engage with allies who have been identified within, or unsettled by, the content of the leaked information, according to one of the officials. Behind the scenes, it has been a reality that has loomed over a deeply personal and important foreign trip for Biden, one official acknowledged.
The Air Force released service details for Teixeira, an Airman 1st Class.
Teixeira is an enlisted airman at the Massachusetts Air National Guard, according to details from his service record released by the Air Force Thursday. He joined the service in September 2019 and his official job is Cyber Transport Systems journeyman. According to the Air Force, Cyber Transport Systems specialists are tasked with making sure the service’s “vast, global communications network” is “operating properly.” (Int’l News Desk)
