Last month, a number of photos were leaked online that appeared to be classified US military documents, including several marked “top secret.” Now, the FBI has arrested a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard in connection to the leak, and the New York Times reports that the suspect’s Steam profile led to a breakthrough in the investigation.
A breakthrough in our investigation came when the team identified a Steam profile in Airman Teixeira’s name that led to an Instagram profile with photos of the exact location where leaked docs were photographed — a kitchen countertop in his childhood home. https://t.co/XQAZf2kNV7 pic.twitter.com/DWlkN8xmqK
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) April 13, 2023
Airman Jack Teixeira is accused of causing what officials call a “major security breach that cannot be allowed to happen again.” The New York Times report states that its investigators found a Steam profile under Airman Teixeira’s name, which was connected to an Instagram profile that had photos of a kitchen countertop that matched the leak documents.
The larger New York Times report casts the suspect as the unofficial leader of a Discord server dedicated to war games and gun culture, which appears to be where the leaks first emerged. Group members say that Airman Teixeira shared descriptions of classified information (and eventually the documents themselves) in an attempt to show younger members of the group what “actual war” was like.
The leaked documents reveal a number of sensitive military secrets that have already wreaked havoc in international circles, especially in terms of the war in Ukraine. The leaks suggest that the US has far more insight into the Russian military than previously thought, as well as revealing what has been described as US pessimism towards Ukraine’s military capabilities.
