Pentagon leaker filmed himself in antisemitic rant at gun range

Jack Teixeira, the National Guard airman arrested on charges of leaking a large trove of US intelligence documents, reportedly recorded himself making antisemitic and racist slurs before opening fire on a target.

The Washington Post first reported the video of the antisemitic rant, which was shared with members of the chat group where Teixeira allegedly shared sensitive intelligence. Teixeira, 21, was the suspected administrator of the group, and the FBI arrested him yesterday at his Massachusetts home.

The Post's account describes a video Teixeira shared in which he is at a shooting range. He “yells a series of racial and antisemitic slurs into the camera, then fires several rounds at a target,” the account said. It did not further detail what slurs he used.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday took to Twitter to defend Teixeira after his arrest.

“Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime,” the Republican representative from Georgia said on Twitter.

“Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young low level national guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?” Greene continued. 

Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more.Ask yourself who is the real enemy?A young low level national guardsmen? Or the…

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 13, 2023

Greene appeared to be an outlier in her embrace of Teixeira, even in her own party.

“No, it makes him an enemy to America. Leaking classified documents, especially this sensitive in nature, is a crime and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, replied to Greene on Twitter. “His conduct is indefensible and should be universally condemned.”

FBI arrests Pentagon leaker

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was briefed for the first time on April 6 about the leak of classified US military documents that appeared online, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The leak of classified information was a "deliberate, criminal act," the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The FBI said on Thursday it has "made an arrest and is continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts."

"FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a brief statement at the Justice Department.

One of the leaked Pentagon documents described situations in which the US believes Israel would supply Ukraine with lethal weapons, according to a report by The New York Times.

The documents Teixeira allegedly leaked exposed weaknesses on both sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine. They are seen as damaging because of the extent to which they expose US intelligence gathering means. They also include an allegation that leaders of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service encouraged antigovernment protests this year, which the Israeli government denies. A member of Teixeira’s group chat allegedly leaked them to a much larger group, which is how some Russian Telegram users got hold of them and spread them further.

Teixeira was identified by The New York Times as the leading figure in an invitation-only online gaming chat group, Thug Shaker Central, on the social network Discord. He reportedly was a central member of a group of about 30 people who shared an interest in guns, video games and racist memes.

Teixeira was deployed in the 102nd intelligence wing of the Massachusetts air national guard.