The federal police FBI in the state of Massachusetts arrested a suspect in connection with the publication of explosive US secret service information on the Internet. The “New York Times” and the US broadcaster CNN reported this on Thursday. Initially, there was no official information on the suspect’s identity. CNN showed pictures of the arrest on television.
21-year-old military employee is said to have shared documents in a chat group
US media had previously circulated the first details about the investigation and the alleged mole. The man is therefore a 21-year-old military employee from the state of Massachusetts. It was a member of the National Guard named Jack T. who ran a chat group on the Discord platform popular with video gamers. According to the reports, the arrested person is said to be this man.
The Washington Post previously reported extensively on the young man, who some would have dubbed “OG,” citing members of the group. Later, the newspaper also identified him by his real name. He initially shared the explosive documents as transcripts with the chat group and later uploaded photos of printed documents there. The New York Times wrote that details of the 21-year-old’s childhood home, which were published in family photos on social media, matched details in the margins of some photos of the classified documents released.
Secret US documents on the Ukraine war have been circulating online for weeks
Secret documents from US agencies – allegedly from the CIA and the Pentagon – on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet for weeks: information on arms deliveries, assessments of what is happening in the war. But also details of alleged US spying against partners. It is unclear what is authentic and what could possibly have been edited. For the US government, the matter is extremely uncomfortable. Questions arise about how reliable Americans are, how well they protect their secrets and those of their partners, and how loyal they are to allies.
US media first reported on the leak shortly before Easter without publishing the documents themselves. According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, he only found out about the data leak about a week ago, even though the material had been floating around the web for weeks.
Chat members admired Mole: “He’s fit. He is strong”
A report by the “Washington Post” late Wednesday evening (local time) was the first to disclose extensive details about the possible mole. Around two dozen young people with a penchant for weapons and military equipment had come together in his chat group. The group was founded in 2020 during the corona pandemic. Nicknamed “OG,” the man is described as a charismatic gun nut with dark views and a penchant for conspiracy theories involving the US government, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement agencies.
Others in the group would have admired him. “He’s fit. He is strong. He’s armed. He’s trained. Pretty much everything you could want from a crazy movie,” said one of the members. “OG” told the group that he obtained the documents at a military base where he worked. There he said he spent parts of the day in a secure facility where cell phones and other electronic devices that could be used to take photos or videos were banned. Therefore, he initially copied the documents. When copying proved too much of a hassle, he began posting images of previously printed papers, according to the newspaper.
