Jack Teixeira: What we know about Pentagon leaks suspect

Friends of 21-year-old Jack Douglas Teixeira, the man accused of leaking classified US intelligence files, say he is not a whistleblower.

So why would a relatively junior airman with no clear motivation allegedly share highly sensitive documents online? The files, which number in the dozens, included confidential information about the war in Ukraine and other national security issues.

FBI investigators will no doubt be working to establish a potential motive.

Mr Teixeira appeared in federal court for the first time on Friday, wearing a beige jumpsuit and handcuffs. Authorities have charged him with unauthorised removal and retention of classified documents and materials. If found guilty, Teixeira faces up to 15 years behind bars. He did not enter a plea.

Mr Teixeira's family has a history of military service, and friends say he has long wanted to join the military, raising further questions about why the suspect would potentially endanger US national security by leaking the files.

His stepfather retired after 34 years of military service, while his mother previously worked for non-profit organisations focused on veterans, according to LinkedIn and public records cited by US media outlets. His mother posted photos of the family every year for Veterans Day.

His parents attended his hearing on Friday, but did not comment to the swarm of media that surrounded them as they left court.

The family live in North Dighton, Massachusetts, and Mr Teixeira graduated from high school there in 2020. He was arrested outside the family's rural home by heavily armed FBI agents on Thursday.

CNN spoke to former high school classmates of his. One expressed surprised at the leaking allegations, saying: "I could never have foreseen him doing that."

Neighbours described Mr Teixeira as being "big into video games", but said he was a "good kid, not a troublemaker".

One said "he had a good head on his shoulders [and] wanted to join the military".

Mr Teixeira allegedly first leaked the files on the online chatroom platform Discord, which is popular among gamers.

Known as "OG", he was seen as the leader of an invitation-only chatroom called Thug Shaker Central which he created during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The Washington Post reported that the group - which had about two dozen members - swapped "memes, offensive jokes and idle chitchat".

They reportedly watched films together, discussed their favourite guns, and messaged extensively about the war in Ukraine. The Associated Press reports that the members also prayed together.

One member of the chatroom described Mr Teixeira as a young, charismatic gun enthusiast. Others said he was older than most in the group and appeared keen to impress them.

Before he shared the images of the intelligence in January, Mr Teixeira allegedly wrote up versions of the sensitive information and shared it to the chatroom.

But he reportedly began sharing photos of the files after becoming frustrated with the lack of response.

This began around January 2023.

On one occasion, the Post said, he sent an irate message to the group complaining that they were more interested in YouTube videos.

"He got upset, and he said on multiple occasions, if you guys aren't going to interact with them [the files], I'm going to stop sending them," the unidentified group member told the newspaper.

At first, the leaks were kept inside the small chatroom, but in early March, members began posting them on other Discord servers, including ones dedicated to the game Minecraft and a Filipino YouTuber.

Investigators say Mr Teixeira wanted to figure out whether or not the intelligence community knew the identity of the leaker yet, and in April he started using his government computer to search the word "leak".

The Washington Post said they were shown videos from a member of the group of Mr Teixeira shouting racist and anti-semitic slurs before firing a rifle.

According to the Post, he told the group he worked in a facility where phones were banned.

He is said to have used various usernames online, such as TheExcaliburEffect, jackdjdtex and TexKilledYou.

One teenager in the group had a theory on why he shared the documents.

"This guy was a Christian, anti-war, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what's going on," he told the New York Times.

Mr Teixeira enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, a reserve of the US Air Force, in 2019. His job title is cyber transport systems journeyman, and he holds the junior rank of Airman 1st Class.

He has top secret security clearance. In order to be given this clearance, Mr Teixeira signed a "lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement" acknowledging that the "unauthorized disclosure of protected information could result in criminal charges", according to court documents.

The Air Force's official website says that personnel assigned to his role are responsible for operating the Air Force's global communications network.

It also notes that the job requires a background check - specifically a single scope background investigation (SSBI) - which allows access to top secret information.

The New York Times quoted Mr Teixeira's mother as saying he had been working overnight on the base in the lead-up to his arrest.

On 6 April, the date that media reports on the leak started being published, Mr Teixeira allegedly used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word "leak".