Who is 'Jack the Leaker'? How needle of suspicion had pointed at Teixeira
Airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested in a probe into the case of leaked military intelligence, says FBI. Teixeira appeared in court for the first time on Friday facing charges of unauthorizedly retaining and transmitting national defense information and unauthorizedly removing and retaining classified documents.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), on Thursday, made an arrest related to the leak of US military intelligence documents, When a 21-year-old member of the US Air Force National Guard was taken into custody “without incident”. Pentagon officials said they were still assessing the scale and scope of the leak of the classified information on the war in Ukraine, and on its US allies.
An online sleuthing group, Bellingcat, the New York Times and the FBI jointly followed ‘digital breadcrumbs’ leading to a negligent Teixeira who had left a train of breadcrumbs which resulted in his identity being revealed.
A ‘breadcrumb trail’ is a graphical control element used as a navigational aid in user interfaces and on web pages. It allows users to keep track and be aware of their locations within programs, documents, owebsites. Teixeira was charged with unauthorizedly retaining and transmitting national defense information and unauthorizedly removing and retaining classified documents.
Officials have repeatedly warned, however, that some of the documents had been doctored and may be used in disinformation campaigns.On April 9, Bellingcat publicly identified the Discord server where Teixeira allegedly posted the classified documents. The New York Times reportedly matched Texeira’s kitchen where the documents were allegedly photographed to Texeira’s social media profile. Adding intrigue to the already deepening mystery, the Times said its journalists were gathered at the Texeira home in Dighton, Massachusetts when a 6-man-strong FBI team barged into his residence.
The court affidavit signed on Friday by FBI special agent Patrick Lueckenhoff reveals that the investigators were parallelly pushing ahead with their own line of probe and had already honed in on the suspect.
On top of the Thug Shaker Central group, copies of some of the documents surfaced on another Discord server of well-known YouTuber Wow Mao. Other than Teixeira sharing them, others may have picked them up, exposing themselves and by implication, the suspect himself, much beyond the close-knit group of 20-odd users of the original Discord group. There onwards, the leaked papers surface on online Right-wing message board 4chan and smaller Telegram constituents, including one that had an edited image with incorrect casualty figures.
THE LOCATION OF THE DOCUMENTS
OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, the leaked documents have showed up on many social media platforms. Independent investigative news portal Bellingcat said the papers were likely to have been posted initially on lesser-known Internet sites, including a popular messaging board for gaming buffs. Closer scrutiny followed after it was found that they were posted more widely to the far-Right noticeboard, 4chan, and pro-Russian messaging groups on Telegram.
According to the Times, most of the documents looked like they had been folded to fit smaller dimensions before being taken away. It is extremely likely that they were taken out of their location and stuffed into a pocket or a briefcase.
WHAT DID THE PAPERS REVEAL?
- Ukraine’s Air Defence is at Risk: Ukraine is, at present, using the Soviet-era S-300 and Bulk air defence systems to battle the Russian Air Force. But the leaked papers reveal that the country would likely exhaust its firepower by mid-April or May if it is not supplied with enough munitions. This could provide an impetus to Russia’s war effort, and that country could use its fighter jets and bombers to penetrate Ukraine’s feeble air defence to tilt the outcome of the battle in its favour.
- Ukraine Narrowly Escaped Defeat: The leaked papers reveal that the Russian forces nearly encircled the Ukrainian military in Bakhmut town—the scene of fierce fighting for several months now— in late-February 2023. Ukraine’s Director of Military Intelligence described the situation as “catastrophic”. Another senior-ranking Ukrainian military official said the soldiers’ morale was low at the time as there was not enough ammunition to carry on the fight. The Ukrainian forces did succeed in the end to push away the Russian troops with the help of its elite units, but the strategic cost for Ukraine was extremely high since it has been looking to save its best-trained and equipped soldiers for a counter-offensive that it expects to come in the next few weeks or months.
- Russian Incentive to Destroy Tanks: In an attempt to boost the morale of its soldiers, Russia has been offering huge monetary benefits. The leaked papers revealed, “Financial incentives would be offered for the capture and destruction of foreign tanks, and videos of tanks being destroyed would be widely distributed to reduce the confidence of Ukraine and the West and reassure Russian troops of their ability to overcome this new weaponry.”
LIFE AND TIMES OF TEIXEIRA
VIDEO GRABS SHOWED heavily armed officers in Massachusetts ushering a young man—wearing a grey T-shirt and bright red shorts, his head bowed and hair close-cropped—into a waiting car.
While the authorities have parted with very few details on Teixeira, information about his life started appearing in the US media following his arrest.
Teixeira was a member of the intelligence wing of the state National Guard, says a New York Times report. According to the National Guard’s official Facebook page, says Teixeira was one among many who were promoted to Airman First Class in July 2022. He had joined the Air National Guard in September 2019 as a ‘Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman’. His job was to help in the maintenance of the Air Force’s “vast, global communications network”—be it as a repairman for the network hub at a base in the state, or as a worker laying a fibre-optic cable at an overseas installation.
Teixeira was also the leader of a small gaming chat group on the Discord platform. The Washington Post had earlier reported that the online group was formed in 2020 amid the raging coronavirus pandemic. The two-dozen-odd young men and boys formed a tight-knit group united by their love for military gear, guns and religion. Membership was by invitation only, the Post said.
One member said, “We all grew very close to each other, like a tight-knit family… We depended on each other.” At the centre of that family was Teixeira, whom the members knew as OG.
By Girish Linganna
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
