Joe Biden eagerly took on jeering Republicans who newly control the House of Representatives, including Marjorie Taylor Greene
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Greene also claimed Teixeira is the 'enemy of the Biden regime' for being anti-war
  • The FBI arrested Teixeira on Thursday for leaking the Pentagon documents o a Discord group
  • Teixeira will be arraigned in federal court on Friday

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, on Thursday defended Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira who was arrested by the FBI in connection to leaking classified Pentagon documents online.

Writing on her Twitter account, Greene claimed Teixeira, 21, was arrested because he is "an enemy to the Biden regime" for being "anti-war." She added that the 21-year-old had only "told the truth" about the situation in the war in Ukraine.

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

Her tweet comes after FBI agents arrested Teixeira who they believe is linked to the leaked classified Pentagon documents. Apart from being a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Teixeira also had ties to the online Discord group Thug Shaker Central where the documents first appeared.

The Discord group is made up of about 30 people who share a bond over guns, racist memes, video games and international politics, The New York Times reported. Several members of the online group told the Times that Teixeira discussed teaching his friend about actual war whenever they played war-themed video games.

Prior to the arrest, Teixeira trained as a cyber transport systems specialist and was assigned to work at the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, part of Joint Base Cape Cod. He was promoted to airmen first class in July, per the 102nd Intelligence Wing's Facebook post.

It is unclear how Teixeira gained access to the classified documents. Officials have refused to divulge more information about what in Teixeira's duties would require him to have access to secret documents about the war between Russia and Ukraine and foreign countries such as South Korea.

Teixeira is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Boston on Friday, per the Times, citing a Justice Department official.

FBI arrests Pentagon documents leaker Jack Teixeira
FBI arrests U.S. Air Force National Guard employee over the leaks online of classified U.S. documents WCVB-TV/Reuters