Massachusetts Airman Arrested by FBI in Leaked Documents Probe

Federal law enforcement officials arrested a 21-year-old Massachusetts man allegedly connected to the disclosure of dozens of secret documents that revealed sensitive U.S. defense and intelligence information, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.

In brief remarks at Department of Justice headquarters, Garland identified the suspect as Jack Teixeira, an airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, and said he was arrested “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.” The New York Times, which first revealed his name Thursday, reported that Teixeira is a member of the guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing.

Garland said FBI agents “took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident.” Before he spoke, a news helicopter flying over Teixeira’s mother’s house in North Dighton, Massachusetts, captured footage of him dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, walking backward with his hands on his head as officers carrying rifles looked on. Teixeira was quickly taken into custody and brought to the back of an armored vehicle.

Read the source article at cbsnews.com