The FBI has arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman officials suspect is involved in the leak of hundreds of classified documents from the Pentagon.
Attorney General Merrick Garland identified Teixeira on Thursday and confirmed the FBI arrested him in Massachusetts for his connection to “alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.”
WATCH LIVE: PENTAGON HOLDS PRESS BRIEFING AFTER REPORTS NAME JACK TEIXEIRA AS DOCUMENTS LEAKER
“FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident,” Garland said. “He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.”
The Pentagon declined to comment on the leaker’s identity at Thursday’s press briefing.
“We are aware of the press reports regarding a potential suspect in the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into unauthorized disclosures of documents appearing to emanate from throughout the intelligence community,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon spokesman. “Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, I will have to refer you to the DOJ for any questions.”
The FBI said it was continuing to conduct “law enforcement activity” outside Teixeira’s home following his arrest.
“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 FBI said in a statement.
The documents were reportedly leaked sometime in February in an invite-only chat on Discord, a chat server, according to a Washington Post report. However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was made aware of the leaked documents on April 6 and has convened military officials for daily updates since April 7.
A number of the Pentagon documents suggested U.S. intelligence penetrated the highest levels of the Russian military, including information from the Russian Defense Ministry outlining attacks against two separate Ukrainian troop positions.
A Washington Post report indicated that the person who leaked the documents, known as “OG,” allegedly worked on a military base and brought home top secret documents. The group the leaker shared the documents with was reportedly about 25 members, invite-only, and made up of both U.S. citizens and foreigners, created during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday morning that the administration was getting close to uncovering who had leaked the documents. Multiple outlets have since named Teixeira as the owner of the Discord group and possibly the leaker, but it is unclear if he would be the sole person responsible for the leak.
The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the incident last week, while the Pentagon continues to assess the damage that will come from the leaked documents.
“We continue to work around the clock along with the interagency and the intelligence community to better understand the scope, scale, and impact of these leaks,” Ryder added. “And just as we’re limited in what we can say about the DOJ’s ongoing investigation, we’ll be also very limited in what we can say about any of the documents themselves.”
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“And while we certainly understand the media’s interest in asking questions about the content of these documents, I will highlight that as a matter of long-standing policy, just because classified information may be posted online or elsewhere does not mean it has been declassified by a classification authority,” Ryder continued.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Justice Department for confirmation of the identity of the leaker. The DOJ declined to comment.
