BOSTON, USA (Caasimada Online) – The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guard member, on Thursday in connection with the recent leaks of classified documents.

These leaks have caused a significant stir in Washington, revealing the U.S. spying on its allies and potential military vulnerabilities in Ukraine.

The arrest took place in Dighton, Massachusetts, a small, predominantly wooded town approximately 50 miles south of Boston.

Federal agents apprehended Teixeira, dressed casually in gym shorts and a T-shirt, without incident.

Teixeira had been serving as an airman 1st class at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, where he had been employed as a Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman, or IT specialist, since joining the Air National Guard in 2019.

Attorney General Merrick Garland informed reporters that Teixeira was wanted “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.”

Teixeira is expected to face criminal charges related to the willful retention and transmission of national defense information.

– Implications of the leaks –

The leaked documents, widely disseminated on social media sites, are considered the most severe security breach since WikiLeaks published over 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables in 2010.

According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon has established a task force to assess and mitigate any potential damage resulting from the leak.

Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor, now with law firm Morrison Foerster, stated that Teixeira could face up to 10 years in prison, even if he did not intend to cause harm.

“This is someone who is facing on the higher end of exposure for years in prison … because the leaks were so damaging,” Van Grack explained.

– Tracing the source –

Although the New York Times brought the leak to widespread attention on April 6, evidence suggests that the documents had been circulating on social media as early as January or March.

Bellingcat, the Washington Post, and The New York Times have traced the documents’ origins to a defunct server on the instant messaging site Discord.

Teixeira, known as OG in a chat group on the site, was admired by its mostly young members for their shared love of guns and military gear.

The Justice Department launched a formal criminal investigation last week after a referral from the Defense Department, which labeled the leak as a “deliberate, criminal act.”

More than 50 documents marked “Secret” and “Top Secret” have been reviewed by Reuters.

However, their Authenticity has yet to be independently verified. The total number of leaked documents is estimated to exceed 100.

– Global reaction –

Several countries, including Britain, have questioned the accuracy of some of the leaked documents.

The leaks have exposed information about allies such as Israel, South Korea, and Turkey.

While U.S. officials believe most of the materials to be genuine, some documents appear to have been altered to display inflated casualty numbers for Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia and understated figures for Russian troops.

Teixeira is expected to appear in court on Friday, as stated by a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.