Pentagon docs leaker found reading on his patio moments before arrest—feds feared armed standoff

FBI agents had been surveilling Teixeira for at least a couple of days before his arrest, but feared an armed confrontation with Teixeira, according to the Daily Mail.

Journalists had been infiltrating niche internet groups and interviewing members in the hopes of identifying the leaker. The FBI did not want to make a premature move, though, and hoped to arrest him when he went to work at the military base where he was assigned, but he did not show up for work that day.

Moments after New York Times reporters showed up at Teixeira's front door to try to speak to him, FBI agents moved in and arrested him.

Teixeira had a longstanding fascination with the military, and his social media posts indicated he owned a number of weapons.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years imprisonment, even if he did not intend to cause harm, The Daily Mail reports.

According to the Daily Mail, Teixeira made a final call to his gamer friends before he was arrested, saying "guys, it’s been good. I love you all."

Teixeira told fellow gamers last week: "I never wanted it to get like this. I prayed to God that this would never happen. And I prayed and prayed and prayed. Only God can decide what happens from now on."

Teixeira's arrest comes after President Joe Biden said investigators were "getting closer" to finding out the source of the leaks.

The intelligence included in the files has included information suggesting Ukraine will soon run out of artillery and potentially risking US intelligence sources around the world. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that rules on access to classified documents could be tightened as a result of the leak. He said he would "not hesitate to take any additional measures necessary to safeguard our nation’s secrets."

In response to the arrest, Republican congressman Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, vowed to "examine why this happened, why it went unnoticed for weeks..." Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder went further, calling the leak of classified information a "deliberate, criminal act."