According to multiple people familiar with the matter, investigators are focusing on a young member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard as the key suspect in the leak of hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence to an online group of young friends — secrets that later spilled out into the wider world in a series of embarrassing disclosures last week.
According to persons familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the individual, Jack Teixeira, has not been charged or detained in the incident as investigators continue to collect evidence.
According to the Washington Post, the person who leaked the material shared papers with a tiny circle of online pals on the Discord chat network, which is popular among gamers. According to these sources, Teixeira’s handle in the group was jackthedripper.
According to one user of the Discord server, Teixeira informed members of the online group Thug Shaker Central that he worked as a technical support worker for the Massachusetts Air National Guard and at a post on Cape Cod, which is how he was able to obtain sensitive material.
The 102nd Intelligence Wing, with headquarters at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, congratulated a person by the same name on his promotion to airman first class in July, according to a Facebook post.
The fast-paced probe began in early April when Pentagon officials learned that records on a wide variety of issues revealed how the US spies on both allies and rivals.
The disclosure of dozens of top-secret papers also irritated senior Ukrainian authorities, who had attempted to conceal facts about their military’s weaknesses as Russia’s conflict with Ukraine enters its second year.
Both the Justice Department and the FBI refused to comment. Calls to Teixeira’s relatives were not responded to immediately. The New York Times was the first to reveal Teixeira’s name.
President Biden told reporters in Ireland on Thursday that the probe is “getting close” to a conclusion.