21-year-old Jack Teixeira received charges for illegally holding and disseminating information about national defense.
Based on a report, Teixeira reportedly made a Discord server in December last year that was intended for discussions with other users about wars and geopolitical events. Discord is a popular platform where people can easily interact and play with one another.
A report from the Bellingcat tracked the source of leaked information regarding the Ukraine-Russia war. Bellingcat looked through a telegram channel called “Donbass Devushka,” 4chan, and discord servers named “Minecraft Earth Map” and “WowMao.”
The report later discovered the server named “Thug Shaker Central,” which was said to be the group where the leak originated. The report also stated that there were about 20 people in the server who shared a common interest in terms of music, video games, religion, and “Oxide,” a well-known YouTube personality.
However, according to Washington Post, it was Teixeira who allegedly shared the classified information on discord behind the name “OG.” The report added that the leak included secrets held by the U.S. government, including information regarding the Ukraine-Russia war and even the air defenses of Taiwan.
A user from the server informed the FBI about the information of the person behind the leaked images and documents on Discord. The user also provided the bureau with the description of the leaker and later confirmed the identity through a driver’s license.
Discord later provided information to the FBI that directed the identity of the person behind the leak to Teixeira.
Seemingly worried because of the news reports about the document leak, the airman tried to learn the information the authorities had by searching the word “leak,” which was later tracked by a government agency. Given the charges that Teixeira received, the airman could be imprisoned for a maximum of 15 years.
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