The Leak of Classified Documents Is Latest Reminder: We Must Root Extremists Out of the Military

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The revelations that the person allegedly responsible for leaking classified documents is a self-declared racist, has made racist and antisemitic statements in a YouTube video, and envisioned a “race war“,  is a reminder, once again, about the importance of rooting extremists out of the military.  GPAHE has reached out to the DOD to urge them to fully implement our recommendations on reducing extremism in our active-duty and veteran military forces.

A post from the 102D Intelligence Wing congratulating Teixeira on his promotion.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old who does intelligence work for the Massachusetts Air National Guard and who was recently promoted to airman first class was arrested today while the FBI searched his home. He is linked to an invitation-only online group on the gaming site Discord, called Thug Shaker Central, where a trove of leaked classified U.S. intelligence documents were shared. Texiera reportedly ran the online group, where between 20 and 30 young men and teenagers “came together over a shared love of guns, racist online memes and video games.”

Referred to as “OG” in the Discord chat, the Washington Post reported seeing a video of Teixeira at a shooting range, “wearing safety glasses and ear coverings and holding a large rifle. He yells a series of racial and antisemitic slurs into the camera, then fires several rounds at a target.” The Post described the suspect responsible for this leak as a “lonely young man” and a “gun enthusiast.”

If investigators are correct, and indeed this leak comes from within the military, this should be a massive wake up call for the US government. There are infinite reasons why it’s dangerous to have far-right, racist, and anti-government characters infiltrating the U.S. military, and national security is one of the most important. Additionally, the number of active-duty and veteran military members who have been responsible for violent domestic terrorist acts is disproportionate to the events, including the January 6 insurrection. Timothy McVeigh, who perpetrated the largest domestic terrorist act in the Oklahoma City bombing which killed 169 people including 19 children, was a veteran.

We’ve warned the U.S. government for years about the danger of the growing incidents of white supremacy in the military and violence, and through Congressional testimony, given multiple suggestions for how to stop it. We urge all levels of government to take this threat seriously and fully implement the recommendations in our testimonies and in our Transnational Agenda to Combat Rising White Supremacist Violence and Terrorism.

1600 828 Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
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