The FBI has been interviewing members of a private Discord server where a 21-year-old National Guardsman is alleged to have shared classified documents, an indication that law enforcement officials are trying to understand how potentially dozens of people may have had access to highly sensitive information before it circulated on the internet and was obtained by journalists.
Jack Teixeira was arrested last week and charged with illegally retaining and transmitting classified information on a server that he administered. He faces up to 15 years in prison. Teixeira has not yet entered a plea.
As part of its investigation, the FBI has spoken to friends of Teixeira who hung out with him in the Discord server, known as Thug Shaker Central, according to people familiar with the matter. The questions included how members of the server first came to know Teixeira, what video games they played together and whether any of the members were foreign nationals, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss interactions with law enforcement officials.
Members of the private Discord group previously told The Washington Post that foreign citizens, including from Russia and Ukraine, as well as Europe, Asia and South America, were among the roughly two dozen people who congregated on the server. The Post has not confirmed the presence of users from these locations.
Discord, which is a popular platform among online gamers, has said it is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation.
For the past several years, U.S. intelligence officials have worried that gaming platforms like Discord created an opportunity for foreign governments to access U.S. secrets, including by encouraging people with access to classified information to share it online.
It was not clear whether the FBI had determined that foreign nationals were in Teixeira’s server or whether any of them had connections to or worked for foreign governments. In at least one instance, the FBI has seized the electronic devices of a former member of the server, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jack Teixeira was arrested last week and charged with illegally retaining and transmitting classified information on a server that he administered. He faces up to 15 years in prison. Teixeira has not yet entered a plea.
As part of its investigation, the FBI has spoken to friends of Teixeira who hung out with him in the Discord server, known as Thug Shaker Central, according to people familiar with the matter. The questions included how members of the server first came to know Teixeira, what video games they played together and whether any of the members were foreign nationals, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss interactions with law enforcement officials.
Members of the private Discord group previously told The Washington Post that foreign citizens, including from Russia and Ukraine, as well as Europe, Asia and South America, were among the roughly two dozen people who congregated on the server. The Post has not confirmed the presence of users from these locations.
Discord, which is a popular platform among online gamers, has said it is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation.
For the past several years, U.S. intelligence officials have worried that gaming platforms like Discord created an opportunity for foreign governments to access U.S. secrets, including by encouraging people with access to classified information to share it online.
It was not clear whether the FBI had determined that foreign nationals were in Teixeira’s server or whether any of them had connections to or worked for foreign governments. In at least one instance, the FBI has seized the electronic devices of a former member of the server, according to people familiar with the matter.
