Jack Teixeira is 21 years old.
From 2019, he had worked at the National Air Guards as an IT expert (Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman). His unit, the 102nd intelligence wing of the Massachusetts National Guard, helps many units of the US Military get intelligence support (secret information using computers and internet).
His step-father and step-brother have both worked with the US Military. Four years, ago, his step-father retired from the same unit after a career spanning 34 years.
Up to April 2023, he worked for the National Air Guard of the US. He had the highest security clearance. This means that he could access most documents related to US security and military. He could even take them home.
He was also OG – the informal leader of a Discord group called “Thug Shaker Central”. Discord is a platform like Whatsapp, but it can be accessed on the laptop. It allows users to exchange text messages, images, audio, and video. It is very popular with young users.
The members of ‘Thug Shaker Central’ were interested in warfare, guns, etc.
Sometime in October – December 2022, he wanted to educate his small group of 18 members about real warfare. So, he shared some real military papers with this closed group.
Someone from that set of 18 shared some of the documents further.
The problem? These were highly classified documents. Some of them were about US war strategy in the Ukraine war. He was not supposed to share them.
The US Military gets to know
As the circulation increased, some members of mainstream media got to know. The US military got to know.
And then started the hunt for the person who had leaked the papers.
How they found out
Discord shared the user details – name, email id, etc. of the user that had posted the documents in the group.
The US military also found that Jack had searched on the government computer for “leak” – trying to understand how close they were to finding him.
The Call
On April 13, as he was arrested by the FBI, he got on a final call with his friends. His words were:
“Guys, it’s been good — I love you all. I never wanted it to get like this. I prayed to God that this would never happen. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only God can decide what happens from now on.” – according to a member of an online group.
On April 14th, Jack Teixeira was produced in court. The trial is now underway.