Leader of online group where secret documents leaked is Air National Guardsman

were shared. Jack Teixeira, 21, led an online group that shared classified US intelligence documents.

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Apr 14, 2023 • 3 min read

Agencies

They said that the person who leaked was not a whistleblower and that the secret documents never intended to leave the small corner of the Internet.

According to documents and interviews reviewed by The

New York Times

The National Guardsman's name is

Jack Teixeira

, managed a private online community named

Thug Shaker Central

About 20-30 people, mainly young men and teens, gathered to discuss their love for guns, racist memes online and video games.

Two U.S. officials confirmed investigators wanted to speak to Teixeira regarding the leakage of government documents to a private online group. According to one official, Teixeira may have relevant information for the investigation. Federal investigators are searching for the person responsible for the leak of top secret documents on the internet. They have not yet identified Teixeira as a suspect. The FBI declined comment. One of the users began uploading hundreds of pages worth of intelligence briefings to the small chat group months ago. He lectured the members of the group, who had formed a bond during the isolation caused by the pandemic. The Times interviewed four members of the Thug-Shaker Central chat group. One of them said he had known the leaker for at least three year, met him personally, and referred him to as the OG. He was described by his friends as being older than the majority of group members who were in their teens and the undisputed leader. One friend said that the OG was able to access intelligence documents because of his job. The gaming friends refused to identify the leader of the group by name. However, digital evidence collected by the Times points towards Teixeira. The Times was able to connect Teixeira with other members of Thug Shaker Central through his online gaming profiles and other records. The Times has been able to link Teixeira with other members of the Thug Shaker Central group through his online gaming profile and other records. The Times has also established through social media and military records that Teixeira was enlisted with the 102nd Intelligence Wing Massachusetts Air National Guard. Teixeira's promotion to Airman First Class was announced on the official Facebook page of the unit.

On Thursday, Joe Biden, the president of the United States said that

United States

The leak was "getting closer" to being solved.

Biden, on a recent visit to Dublin, told reporters that the Justice Department and Intelligence Community are conducting a full-blown investigation.

It wasn't immediately clear whether a young woman was involved.

Air National Guardsman

In his position, he could have been privy to these highly sensitive briefings. One official in the U.S. Government with security clearance told The Times that such documents are often sent to officials via email daily. These emails could then be automatically forwarded.

Dawn Teixeira, Teixeira’s mother, confirmed outside her Massachusetts home on Thursday that her son is a member the Air National Guard. She said that he recently worked overnight shifts on a Cape Cod base. She said that he changed his number in the last few days. A red pickup truck driven by someone who looked like Teixeira arrived on the property later. The truck was still parked on the driveway when Times reporters returned to the house. Teixeira's mom and a man stood outside the driveway. The man replied that Teixeira should get an attorney, if the situation was going the way it is right now. The Feds are coming soon, I am sure." The members of Thug Shaker central who spoke with the Times stated that the online documents they discussed were intended to be informative. The members of Thug Shaker Central said that while many documents were about the war in Ukraine they did not take sides in the conflict. They said that the documents only began to gain wider attention after one of the teenagers in the group posted a few dozen to an online public forum. The documents were then picked up by Telegram channels in Russian and the Times. They said that the person who leaked was not a whistleblower and that the secret documents never intended to leave the small corner of the Internet. One of the friend's from the community said, "This guy is a Christian and anti-war. He just wanted to tell some of his friends what was going on." We have people in our group in Ukraine. "We like to play war games and fighting games."

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