When pilot Jacques Teixeira rushed home in a red pickup truck—expecting the FBI to be hot on his heels—he delivered the last message.
Guys, it was good. I love you all,” he told a group of teens and young men accused of sharing secret military documents.
I never wanted to have something like this. I prayed to God that this never happen. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. said one of the group members I spoke with The New York Times.
Teixeira was arrested at his home in North Dayton, Mass., on Thursday and will face charges under the Espionage Act of 1917.
Details that have emerged since then paint a picture of the 21-year-old Teixeira as a God-fearing Christian with a hereditary sense of duty to serve in the country’s armed forces.
Peers said Jacques Teixeira, 21, who was arrested Thursday for leaking classified US intelligence, was fascinated by the armed forces. He served in the same wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard as his stepfather
Teixeira’s stepfather, Mr. Sgt. Thomas B. Duvault (pictured center) ended his 34-year military career with a ceremony in 2019 at Joint Base Cape Cod, where Teixeira worked night shifts
In fact, the young pilot was serving in exactly the same wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard as his stepfather, Master Sgt. Thomas B. Duvault had retired four years ago.
Duvault ended his 34-year military career with a ceremony in 2019 at the same Cape Cod Air Force base where Teixeira worked night shifts and which hosts the 102nd Intelligence Wing.
His mother, Don Teixeira, 54, runs an area flower shop, Bayberry Farm & Flower Co.
She posted on the Facebook business page on Veterans Day in 2021 in honor of her husband Duvault, stepson, father-in-law, and son Jack, all of whom served in the armed forces.
Some of Teixeira’s peers and colleagues revealed this CNN that Teixeira had been infatuated with the military long before he became a Ranger.
John Powell, with whom Teixeira attended middle school and high school, stated that he sometimes got pregnant A textbook on military vehicles featuring tanks, planes and submarines.
On Veterans Day in 2021, Teixeira’s mom posted a tribute to her husband Duvault, stepson, father-in-law, and son Jack, all of whom served in the armed forces
One of the people who went to school with Teixeira (pictured) mentioned that he sometimes carried a textbook on military vehicles with tanks, planes and submarines
The pilot, Teixeira, enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base.
Powell suggested that he was fond of anything “military-related” from a young age. “He died intending to join a branch of the military, even as a child,” he said.
He would sometimes wear camouflage to school and carry “a dictionary-sized book on weapons,” the outlet was told.
“A lot of people were wary of him,” said Brooke Clithero, who also attended middle and high school with Teixeira.
“He was more of a recluse, with a fascination with war and weapons that alienated many people.”
Members of the “Thug Shaker Central” Discord server, on which Teixeira informally chaired and went by “OG,” had less cynical views of him, but agreed that he was interested in war.
One of the members said Vahki to times in an interview. The man was the legend. And he was the legend. Everyone respected this man.
Matched inside Teixeira’s childhood home in Bristol, Massachusetts, are photos of sensitive files on the US intelligence and Ukraine war that have been shared on forums since the end of last year, according to the Times.
This document appears to show the state of Ukraine’s air defenses in February and May, when they are expected to be severely depleted.
“This guy was a Christian,” said Vahke, 17, a recent high school graduate. We have some people in our group who are in Ukraine. We like fighting games, and we like war games.
Teixeira was among the eldest in the group made up mainly of young adults and teens, who were keen on games, guns and right-wing memes.
The pilot, Teixeira, was enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base.
His official job title is Cyber Transportation Systems Operator. The Air Force says these specialists ensure the service’s “widespread global communications network” is functioning properly.
He will make his court debut in Boston on Friday, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
On Thursday, Teixeira was captured in aerial footage calmly reading a book on his porch as an armored vehicle crept quietly up his driveway.
Video recorded by Boston-based news channel WCBV captured the moment the 21-year-old was taken into custody just moments after a New York Times reporter tried to knock on his door.
Government sources revealed that although FBI agents had refrained from taking action against him, they had monitored Teixeira for at least two days prior to his arrest, but feared an armed confrontation with a gun enthusiast.
His arrest comes after President Joe Biden said during the third day of his trip to Ireland that investigators were “coming closer” to finding out the source.
Biden also said he is not “concerned” about sharing documents that threaten to risk American assets around the world because the information is not “contemporary.”
The intelligence in the files included information indicating that Ukraine would soon run out of artillery and potentially risk US intelligence sources around the world.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has warned that rules for accessing classified documents could be tightened as a result of the leak.
He said he “would not hesitate to take any additional actions necessary to preserve our nation’s secrets.”
“Everyone in the US service, civilian (Defense Department) and contractor with access to classified information, has a serious legal and moral obligation to protect it and report any suspicious activity or behavior,” he said.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder went further than Austin, calling the leak of classified information a “deliberate criminal act.”
Hours after Teixeira’s arrest, Mike Turner, the Republican congressman who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, vowed to “examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks, and how to prevent future leaks.”
