Friend: Arrested Guardsman Was Not A Whistleblower

The New York Times reports:

The 21-year-old National Guard airman was frantic as he joined a call with members of a small online gamer community that has improbably ended up at the center of a federal investigation into a major U.S. security breach. It sounded as if the airman, Jack Teixeira, was in a speeding car, said a member of the group who uses the screen name Vahki. “Guys, it’s been good — I love you all,” Airman Teixeira said, Vahki recounted.

“Everyone respected O.G.,” Vahki said in an interview. “He was the man, the myth. And he was the legend. Everyone respected this guy.” What Airman Teixeira was not, Vahki said, was a whistle-blower in the vein of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. The secret documents in the news now, Airman Teixeira’s friends said, were never meant to leave their small corner of the internet. “This guy was a Christian, antiwar, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on,” said Vahki.

Read the full article.

What Airman Teixeira was not, a close Discord friend said, was a whistle-blower in the vein of Snowden and Manning, whose outrage over perceived injustices led them to break the law and reveal closely held government secrets. Our big narrative piece here: https://t.co/RpV73WeO9z

— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) April 13, 2023