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On Thursday, April 13, Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested by the FBI in connection with a leak of classified Pentagon documents. The information in question was shared in a chatroom called Thug Shaker Central on Discord - a social media platform popular among gamers. Jack Teixeira was the admin of the chat room, where he was referred to as an “OG.”
The documents reportedly contained sensitive information pertaining to the Ukraine war and classified intelligence on Korea and Israel. After the incident came to light, some tried to grapple with the shocking discovery of a 21-year-old guardsman leaking classified documents that could potentially threaten national security.
Others took to social media and wondered if the accused, Jack Teixeira, was related to former American baseball player Mark Teixeira, who incidentally shares the same surname.
In a bizarre twist, Mark Teixeira also has a son named Jack Gordan Teixeira, which only heightened people’s interest in exploring the Air National Guardman’s origin.
However, the accused in the Pentagon leak, Jack Teixeira, is not related to the famous baseball player Mark Teixeira. It is merely a coincidence that the former shares the same surname as Mark Teixeira and has a similar name as the Baseball Player’s son though their middle names differ. While Mark Teixeira's son is named Jack “Gordan” Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman is known as Jack “Douglas” Teixeira
Jack Teixeira's step-father retired from the military after 34 years of active service
Jack Douglas Teixeira enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing after graduating in 2020 from high school in North Dighton, Massachusetts, where he lived with his family at the time of the arrest.
On Thursday, Jack was arrested outside the family's rural home in North Dighton, Massachusetts, by heavily armed FBI agents. Jack, who was recently promoted to Airman 1st Class last July, has deep ties to the army, considering his step-father, Thomas Dufault, retired from the military in 2019 after 34 years of active service. Dufault reportedly ended his career as a Master Sergeant in the 102nd Intelligence Wing located at Joint Base Cape Cod, the same unit as Jack.
Meanwhile, Jack’s mom Dawn Dufault, who runs a business — Bayberry Farm & Flower Company — out of the family home, has worked closely with multiple nonprofit organizations that support veterans in the community.
While not much is known about Jack’s biological dad, the New York Post identified him as Jack Michael Teixeira, who lives in the same town as the Dufault family.
Jack Teixeira had top security clearance on the military base
As an Airman 1st Class, Jack Teixeira worked under the duty title of “cyber transport systems journeyman.” He was responsible for effectively keeping the internet working at the base for seamless operations in the global communications network that links military units around the world. As per the BBC, Jack reportedly had a top security clearance due to the nature of his job.
According to court documents cited by the publication, to be given this clearance, Jack reportedly had to sign a "lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement" which prohibited him from leaking classified information. A breach would result in criminal prosecution.
Last week, several classified documents that included information on the ongoing Ukraine war were posted on social media. The documents, initially shared by Jack Teixeira in a Discord chatroom with 20 to 30 members, found their way to a larger audience online.
A member of the chatroom told the Times that initially, Jack only posted paraphrased versions of the documents. However, after people’s tepid response to the paraphrased transcripts, he began uploading hardcopy images to impress individuals in the chatroom.
As per Newsweek, the leaked documents were reportedly circulating online for weeks before officials discovered the breach in March.
On Friday, Jack appeared in federal court and was charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents and materials. If found guilty, Teixeira faces up to 15 years in prison.
