Armed FBI officers have arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard over the alleged leak of classified military intelligence online.
Authorities raided the Massachusetts home of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Guard’s intelligence wing, on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
Hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence have been shared with an online gaming group before becoming public in a string of disclosures last week.
“We are aware of the investigation into the alleged role a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman may have played in the recent leak of highly-classified documents,” the National Guard said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder called the leak of classified information a “deliberate, criminal act.”
Video played on CNN, appeared to show the suspect being taken into custody by the FBI.
Earlier, Joe Biden told reporters in Dublin, Ireland, that the US government was closing in on the leaker.
“There’s a full-blown investigation going on, as you know,” Mr Biden said. “The intelligence community and the Justice Department. And they’re getting close. I don’t have an answer for you.”
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the leaker had shared documents with a group of friends on the popular gaming platform Discord.
A Facebook post last July from the 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, congratulated someone by the name of Jack Teixeira for promotion to airman first class.
A Discord spokesperson told CNN on Sunday that the company is cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.
