Washington: The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing other members of an online chat group, that the person who leaked US classified documents and sparked a national security investigation is a gun enthusiast in his 20s who worked on a military base.
Approximately twenty men and young boys who shared a "mutual love of guns, military gear, and God" were in the Discord group that received the classified information, according to the Post.
Interviews with two individuals from the Discord chat group served as the basis for The Post's story, which omitted the subject's name.
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In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Discord stated that it was working with law enforcement. A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice.
The Pentagon, which is evaluating the harm from what may be the most damaging release of classified US information in years, referred the matter to the Department of Justice, which last week launched a formal criminal investigation.
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The person went by the moniker OG, which stands for Original Gangster or a purist from the old school. The individual, who was respected by the group, was described by one of the Post's sources as being in his early to mid-20s.
He's healthy. He is robust. He has a gun. He has training. One chat group participant, who was under 18, claimed to be "just about everything you can expect out of some sort of crazy movie," according to the Post. He spoke on the condition of anonymity with his mother's approval.
Images of classified documents were posted on Twitter, the encrypted messaging service Telegram, the online message board 4Chan, and Discord in what appears to be the biggest leak of US secrets in years.
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In order to determine the harm to national security, relations with allies, and other countries, including Ukraine, the Justice Department and national security agencies of the US are looking into the release.