FBI Arrests US National Guard Member Over Intelligence Data Leakage in Cyberspace

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Shinsuke Ikegame)

JAKARTA - The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a member of the United States Air National Guard, over allegations of online intelligence leaks impacting Washington and its allies on Thursday.

Federal agents in armored cars and military gear stormed Teixeira, dressed in tracksuit shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers, at his home in Dighton, Massachusetts, a mostly wooded town of 8.000 about 50 miles (80 km) south of Boston.

The arrests came a week after the leak first became widely known, leaving Washington nervous about the damage it might cause. The episode embarrassed the US by exposing its spying activities against allies and acknowledging the vulnerability of Ukraine's military.

The leak of documents, most of which were posted on social media sites, is believed to be the most serious breach of security since more than 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

Teixeira was a class 1 pilot at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, according to his service records. He joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and worked as a "Cyber ​​Transport Systems Journeyman", or IT specialist.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters that Teixeira was wanted "in connection with an investigation into the alleged unauthorized removal, storage and transmission of classified national defense information," Reuters reported April 14.

The FBI said its agents had conducted "authorized law enforcement activity at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts."

The video shows Teixeira with his hands tied behind his head, walking backwards towards the armored car with one officer watching from the tower. He was handcuffed and placed in the back of the vehicle. Garland said he was detained "without a fight."

The Justice Department did not say what charges Teixeira would face, although it would likely involve criminal charges for knowingly storing and transmitting national defense information.

Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department national security attorney who now works at law firm Morrison Foerster said the possible charges carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years, even if Teixeira did not intend to cause harm.

"This is someone who faces a higher level of exposure over their years in prison ... because the leak is so damaging," said Van Grack.

Separately, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement, the Pentagon task force was "working around the clock to assess and mitigate the damage." Teixeira is expected to appear in court on Friday, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Boston said.

Although the leak only received widespread attention after its April 6 story in the New York Times, journalists have found evidence that the documents – or at least some of them – have been circulating on social media since March or even January.

The Department of Justice opened a formal criminal investigation last week, following a referral from the Department of Defense, which labeled the leak a "deliberate criminal act."

The leaks reveal information about allies including Israel, South Korea to Türkiye. Several countries have questioned the veracity of some of the leaked documents, including the UK, which says there is a "serious degree of inaccuracy" in the information.